What is your vision of the future of radiochemistry/radiopharmacy/nuclear medicine?
Radiochemistry: what is special about radiochemistry? Its sensitivity. We are able to detect trace amounts of radionuclides present in complex systems by detecting their radioactive emissions. This allows dynamic processes to be followed without disturbing the system under study. However, the technique is not limited to studying mammalian systems. Some have used positron-emitting radionuclides and radiotracers in the study of plants. However, positron-emitters could also be useful in other areas – for example, the study of insects, ecosystems, geology or in solving complex engineering problems. Of course, developing new methods and instrumentation to produce radionuclides and label new molecules is crucial and will be the main stay of developments for the foreseeable future. Other areas ripe for further development include radiotracers with multiple labels [‘stable’/radionuclide combinations], the use of kinetic isotope effects and labelling the same tracer in different positions. All of the these have the potential to augment the amount of information we can extract from a process that we wish to study.