Development of new ligand systems for complexation of technetium and rhenium for radiopharmaceutical applications

99mTc is the major radioisotope used in diagnostic radiopharmaceuticals and 186Re and 188Re are expected to emerge as useful ones for therapy. Development of new radiopharmaceuticals based on the above metallic radionuclides depends on the design and synthesis of novel ligands which are capable of giving stable complexes having predefined radiochemical properties. This article describes the development of such new ligand systems, with particular reference to the author's contributions in this field. (author). 25 refs., 4 figs