The production of no-carrier-added radiopharmaceuticals with special reference to radionuclide impurities.

Charged-particle accelerators are being utilized extensively for the production of several neutron-deficient radionuclides for use in the synthesis of radiopharmaceuticals for diagnostic nuclear-medicine applications. The diversity of techniques being employed results in radionuclide preparations having significantly different radionuclidic composition. The choice of nuclear reaction, the knowledge of excitation functions, the proper timing and use of radiochemical methods, are all factors which will to some extent determine the quality of a radionuclide preparation. The different factors governing the production and quality of medical radionuclides will be discussed, with particular attention to the formation of radionuclidic impurities, and their effects in nuclear medicine practice.