Gallium compounds in nuclear medicine and oncology

Abstract

An overview of the most important gallium compounds in nuclear medicine and oncology in the two last decades, with an emphasis on the last decade (especially the last 5 years), is given in this review. You can also find here some recent knowledge about 68 Ge/ 68 Ga radionuclide generator modern automated synthesis modules. Gallium has long been known to concentrate in skeletal tissue, particularly regions of bone deposition and remodeling. Elemental gallium is a potent inhibitor of bone resorption that acts to maintain or restore bone mass. There are several medically useful gallium radionuclides that have made extensive contribution in both the diagnosis and therapy of diseases. A huge variety of monofunctional and bifunctional chelators have been developed that allow the formation of stable 68 Ga(III) complexes and convenient coupling to biomolecules such as amino acids, peptides, nanoparticles, or even whole cells. Gallium pharmaceuticals can be divided into two groups according to radioactivity, i.e., radiopharmaceuticals – using radioactive Ga(III) isotopes, and conventional pharmaceuticals – using non-radioactive Ga(III) ion. The pharmaceuticals can also be divided according to the target site of a drug, i.e., those having an impact on soft tissue (most of the drugs) and hard tissue (bones and bone metastasis). In oncology and nuclear medicine, gallium and its compounds have been applied for imaging as well as therapy, and their importance in this field is still growing.