Radiopharmacy: Basics

Abstract

A radiopharmaceutical is a radioactive compound that has two components, a radionuclide and a pharmaceutical; it is used for the diagnosis and treatment of human diseases. All radiopharmaceuticals are legend drugs and are subject to all regulations that apply to other drugs. The difference between a radiochemical and a radiopharmaceutical is that the former is not administered to humans due to the possible lack of sterility and nonpyrogenicity; any material administered to humans must be sterile and nonpyrogenic. A radiopharmaceutical may be a radioactive element like 133Xe or a labeled compound such as 99mTc-labeled compounds [1]. © 2011 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.