Nuclear separations for radiopharmacy: The need for improved separations to meet future research and clinical demands

Several recent national and international reports have predicted that the d emand for radionuclides used in medicine will increase significantly over t he next 20 years. Separation science is an integral part of the production and development of new radionuclides for diagnostic and therapeutic applica tions and will play a major role in process improvements to existing radiop harmaceuticals to meet increasing demands. The role of separation science i n the production of radionuclides for medical applications is briefly discu ssed, followed by an overview of the manuscripts from the American Chemical Society symposium "Nuclear Separations for Radiopharmacy". A Listing of th e most widely used radionuclides in clinical application and medical resear ch serves as a foundation for the discussion of future research opportuniti es in separation science.