applied sciences Review A Picture of Modern Tc-99m Radiopharmaceuticals: Production, Chemistry, and Applications in Molecular Imaging Alessandra Boschi 1 , Licia Uccelli 2,3 and Petra Martini 2,4,* 1 Department of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Ferrara, Via Luigi Borsari, 46, 44121 Ferrara, Italy;
[email protected] 2 Department of Morphology, Surgery and Experimental Medicine, University of Ferrara, Via Luigi Borsari, 46, 44121 Ferrara, Italy;
[email protected] 3 Nuclear Medicine Unit, University Hospital, Via Aldo Moro, 8, 44124 Ferrara, Italy 4 Legnaro National Laboratories, Italian National Institute for Nuclear Physics (LNL-INFN), Viale dell’Università, 2, 35020 Legnaro (PD), Italy * Correspondence:
[email protected]; Tel.: +39-0532-455354 Received: 15 May 2019; Accepted: 19 June 2019; Published: 21 June 2019 Abstract: Even today, techentium-99m represents the radionuclide of choice for diagnostic radio-imaging applications. Its peculiar physical and chemical properties make it particularly suitable for medical imaging. By the use of molecular probes and perfusion radiotracers, it provides rapid and non-invasive evaluation of the function, physiology, and/or pathology of organs. The versatile chemistry of technetium-99m, due to its multi-oxidation states, and, consequently, the ability to produce a variety of complexes with particular desired characteristics, are the major advantages of this medical radionuclide. The advances in technetium coordination chemistry over the last 20 years, in combination with recent advances in detector technologies and reconstruction algorithms, make SPECT’s spatial resolution comparable to that of PET, allowing 99mTc radiopharmaceuticals to have an important role in nuclear medicine and to be particularly suitable for molecular imaging.