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 demand for radionuclides used in medicine will increase significantly over the next 20 years. Separation science is an integral part of the production and development of new radionuclides for diagnostic and therapeutic applications and will play a major role in process improvements to existing radiopharmaceuticals to meet increasing demands. The role of separation science in the production of radionuclides for medical applications is briefly discussed, followed by an overview of the manuscripts from the American Chemical Society symposium “Nuclear Separations for Radiopharmacy”. A listing of the most widely used radionuclides in clinical application and medical research serves as a foundation for the discussion of future research opportunities in separation science.