The utilization of the technetium-99m in the pathologies diagnosis and dysfunctions of the human organism

Radiopharmaceuticals are radioactive compounds used in the diagnostic and treatment of pathologies and dysfunctions of the human organism. A variety of radioisotopes can be employed in the preparation of radiopharmaceuticals, among which technetium-99m (99mTc), which presents ideal physical characteristics for its application in diagnostic nuclear medicine. Once administered to the patient, the radiopharmaceutical is deposited in the target organ or tissue and suitable equipment can acquire images from the radiation emitted by the patient. It is a noninvasive process which allows anatomic, morphological and functional evaluations. 99mTc is obtained from the radioactive decay of molybdenum-99 and can be made available in the hospital from 99Mo-99Tc generators. 99mTc can bind to different substrates or ligands, by means of complexation reactions, originating radiopharmaceuticals with affinities for different organs, systems or receptors in the organism. Knowing 99mTc coordination chemistry is extremely important for the development of these radiopharmaceuticals. (author)