“Capture, Excite, Release: Harnessing Rare Earths for Diagnostic Imaging and Therapy”

Abstract:

Stable and radioactive rare earths possess attractive properties for biomedical imaging and therapy. Our lab applies a cross-disciplinary approach that combines physical inorganic chemistry, coordination chemistry, chemical biology and preclinical imaging in mice to transform aqua-ions of rare earths into tools for non-invasive diagnostic imaging, optical probes for image-guided surgical resection and targeted radiotherapy of cancers. 

The first part of this presentation will discuss our efforts in transforming discrete luminescent lanthanide complexes into in vivo compatible, targeted optical probes. The second part will introduce innovative coordination chemistry strategies to selectively capture diagnostic and therapeutic radionuclides for their direct and facile transformation into ready-to-inject radiopharmaceuticals.