Microwave reactor

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

One of the PI's research activities has concerned, for almost three decades now, the development of new transition-metal based radiopharmaceuticals. Our group, in collaboration with Dr. M. J. Adam at TRIUMF, is focused on the generator-produced isotopes Tc-99m, and most recently Ga-68, because the corresponding generator system has been optimized and will potentially be commercialized within the next few years. (Ga radiopharmaceutical research is the subject of a Adam/Orvig NSERC CR&D application in collaboration with MDS Nordion.) This has stimulated an interest in the development of novel derivatizable chelators for gallium(III) to circumvent older, well-explored ligand systems such as NOTA and DOTA. One of the main targets of this rapidly evolving, strongly competitive field of transition metal radionuclide-based imaging agents is to optimize and shorten procedures, because of the short half-lives involved; therefore, this field has become highly interested, and also already quite successful, in the use of microwave-supported sequential synthesis. Our current radiopharmaceutical chemistry facilities at TRIUMF include one (ancient and poorly controlled) oil bath for heating as the only tool to accelerate these reactions. Clearly, there is an overwhelming need for a microwave reactor capable of sequential, multiple syntheses. Without this, we will cease to be one of the leading research groups in our field, and might also lose the financial support of the company currently supporting our research. Furthermore, the presence of microwave reactors at research facilities of our immediate competitors makes the need of such an apparatus not just imperative but also urgent.