IAEA Contribution to Nanosized Targeted Radiopharmaceuticals for Drug Delivery.

The rapidly growing interest in the application of nanoscience in the future design of radiopharmaceuticals and the development of nanosized radiopharmaceuticals in the late 2000's, resulted in the creation of a Coordinated Research Project (CRP) by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in 2014. This CRP entitled ' involved a team of expert scientist from various member states. This team of scientists worked on a number of cutting-edge areas of nanoscience with a focus on developing well-defined, highly effective and site-specific delivery systems of radiopharmaceuticals.

Potential Theranostic Boron Neutron Capture Therapy Agents as Multimodal Radiopharmaceuticals.

Boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) has been extant for decades and continues to be practiced in many centers around the globe. Most of the active clinical trials utilize boronophenylalanine as the drug containing boron atoms. The important aspect that has been added to the BNCT practice is the use of an F-18 radiolabeled analog for ascertaining targeting and monitoring follow-up studies.

Production and Supply of α-Particle-Emitting Radionuclides for Targeted α-Therapy.

Encouraging results from targeted α-therapy have received significant attention from academia and industry. However, the limited availability of suitable radionuclides has hampered widespread translation and application. In the present review, we discuss the most promising candidates for clinical application and the state of the art of their production and supply.

In reply to the letter to the editor regarding "Palisade cartilage tympanoplasty compared to one-piece composite cartilage-perichondrium grafts for transcanal endoscopic treatment of subtotal tympanic membrane perforations: a retrospective study".

This is a reply letter to the manuscript "The size and diameter of pieces of cartilage are not fixed for the palisade technique and one-piece technique", regarding the elevation of a tympanomeatal flap and keratin pearl formation in "Palisade cartilage tympanoplasty compared to one-piece composite cartilage-perichondrium grafts for transcanal endoscopic treatment of subtotal tympanic membrane perforations: a retrospective study" ( https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-020-05947-3 ).

Timing, Complications, and Safety of Tracheotomy in Critically Ill Patients With COVID-19.

Importance: The current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has led to unprecedented needs for invasive ventilation, with 10% to 15% of intubated patients subsequently requiring tracheotomy.

Objective: To assess the complications, safety, and timing of tracheotomy performed for critically ill patients with COVID-19.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This prospective cohort study assessed consecutive patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) who had COVID-19 that required tracheotomy.

IAEA contribution to the development of 64Cu radiopharmaceuticals for theranostic applications.

Copper-64 is a very attractive radioisotope with unique nuclear properties that allow using it as both a diagnostic and therapeutic agent, thus providing an almost ideal example of a theranostic radionuclide. A characteristic of Cu-64 stems from the intrinsic biological nature of copper ions that play a fundamental role in a large number of cellular processes. Cu-64 is a radionuclide that reflects the natural biochemical pathways of Cu-64 ions, therefore, can be exploited for the detection and therapy of certain malignancies and metabolic diseases.

Copper-64 based radiopharmaceuticals for brain tumors and hypoxia imaging.

Introduction: The most common and aggressive primary malignancy of the central nervous system is Glioblastoma that, as a wide range of malignant solid tumor, is characterized by extensive hypoxic regions. A great number of PET radiopharmaceuticals have been developed for the identification of hypoxia in solid tumors, among these, we find copper-based tracers. The aim of the current review paper was to provide an overview of radiocopper compounds applied for preclinical and clinical research in brain tumors and hypoxia imaging or therapy.

IAEA Activities on Cu, Re, Sc Theranostic Radionuclides and Radiopharmaceuticals.

Despite interesting properties, the use of Cu, Re and Sc theranostic radionuclides in preclinical studies and clinical trials is curtailed by their limited availability due to a lack of widely established production methods. An IAEA Coordinated Research Project (CRP) was initiated to identify important technical issues related to the production and quality control of these emerging radionuclides and related radiopharmaceuticals, based on the request from IAEA Member States. The international team worked on targetry, separation, quality control and radiopharmaceutical aspects of the radionuclides obtained from research reactors and cyclotrons leading to preparation of a standard recommendations for all Member States.

Palisade cartilage tympanoplasty compared to one-piece composite cartilage-perichondrium grafts for transcanal endoscopic treatment of subtotal tympanic membrane perforations: a retrospective study.

Purpose: The endoscopic approach to tympanoplasty is gaining popularity, but its adoption for the palisade tympanoplasty technique is unstudied. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of endoscopic cartilage palisade tympanoplasty compared to one-piece composite cartilage-perichondrium grafts for tympanic membrane closure in adult patients with subtotal perforations.

Methods: Retrospective study of 42 adult patients who underwent endoscopic tympanoplasty for a subtotal perforation in a university tertiary referral center from January 2018 to June 2019.

Pharmacokinetics of neutron-irradiated meglumine antimoniate in -infected BALB/c mice.

Background: Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is a parasitic disease caused by the protozoan spp. Pentavalent antimonial agents have been used as an effective therapy, despite their side effects and resistant cases. Their pharmacokinetics remain largely unexplored.

Winter road management effects on roadside soil and vegetation along a mountain pass in the Adirondack Park, New York, USA.

In 2003-2005, we resurveyed and expanded plots surveyed in 1985 to examine the cumulative impact of road salt (sodium chloride) and sand along a two-lane highway in the Adirondack State Park in New York State (USA). Annual salt applications in the period 1985-2005 ranged from 50 tonnes per centerline-km (1985) to 140 tonnes (2005) and sand applications ranged from nearly zero tonnes (2005) to 325 tonnes (1985). Roadside soils and vegetation were significantly impacted by salt deposition compared to soils and vegetation 30 m and 150 m from the road.

Current Status of Nuclear Medicine Practice in the Middle East.

The practice of nuclear medicine (NM) in the Middle East region has experienced an important growth in the last 2 decades and has become crucial in providing healthcare to the region's population of about 395 million people. Even though there are some countries in which the services provided are limited to basic coverage of studies with (99m)Tc and (131)I, most have well-established practices covering most of the available studies in this medical specialty; this is the case in for example, Iran, Israel, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey. According to data provided by the NM professionals in the 17 countries included in the present publication, which was collected by the International Atomic Energy Agency in 2015, the total number of gamma cameras in the region is 910 with an average of 2.

Thermal diffusion of ⁶⁷Ga from irradiated Zn targets.

Gallium-67 is a cyclotron produced radionuclide and ⁶⁷Ga-citrate complex scans are performed in a variety of applications in Nuclear Medicine. The aim of this study was to evaluate a new method for the chemical separation of ⁶⁷Ga from Zn targets. The method has 2 steps, first the thermal diffusion of ⁶⁷Ga with concentrated acetic acid and then purification by cation exchange in ammonium medium.

Biodistribution of meglumine antimoniate in healthy and Leishmania (Leishmania) infantum chagasi-infected BALB/c mice.

Pentavalent antimonials such as meglumine antimoniate (MA) are the primary treatments for leishmaniasis, a complex disease caused by protozoan parasites of the genus Leishmania . Despite over 70 years of clinical use, their mechanisms of action, toxicity and pharmacokinetics have not been fully elucidated. Radiotracer studies performed on animals have the potential to play a major role in pharmaceutical development.

(67)Ga and (68)Ga purification studies: preliminary results.

The positron emission tomography technique is very useful for diagnosis of several diseases. (68)Ga is a positron emitter with half-life of 67.7 min.

Technetium-99m -- new production and processing strategies to provide adequate levels for SPECT imaging.

The most important radioisotope for use in Nuclear Medicine is (99m)Tc, supplied in the form of a (99)Mo/(99m)Tc generator. After the supply crisis of (99)Mo starting in 2008 the availability of (99)Mo became a worldwide concern. The purpose of this work is to do a brief story of the availability of (99)Mo in the world followed by an overview of the production routes of (99)Mo and the generators technology.

Photoluminescence spectroscopy of pure pentacene, perfluoropentacene, and mixed thin films.

We report detailed temperature dependent photoluminescence (PL) spectra of pentacene (PEN), perfluoropentacene (PFP), and PEN:PFP mixed thin films grown on SiO(2). PEN and PFP are particularly suitable for this study, since they are structurally compatible for good intermixing and form a model donor/acceptor system. The PL spectra of PEN are discussed in the context of existing literature and compared to the new findings for PFP.

Retrieving the spatial distribution of cavity modes in dielectric resonators by near-field imaging and electrodynamics simulations.

For good performance of photonic devices whose working principle is based on the enhancement of electromagnetic fields obtained by confining light into dielectric resonators with dimensions in the nanometre length scale, a detailed knowledge of the optical mode structure becomes essential. However, this information is usually lacking and can only be indirectly obtained by conventional spectroscopic techniques. Here we unraveled the influence of wire size, incident wavelength, degree of polarization and the presence of a substrate on the optical near fields generated by cavity modes of individual hexagonal ZnO nanowires by combining scanning near-field optical microscopy (SNOM) with electrodynamics calculations within the discrete dipole approximation (DDA).

Radiolabeling of rituximab with (188)Re and (99m)Tc using the tricarbonyl technology.

Introduction: The most successful clinical studies of immunotherapy in patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) use the antibody rituximab (RTX) targeting CD20(+) B-cell tumors. Rituximab radiolabeled with β(-) emitters could potentiate the therapeutic efficacy of the antibody by virtue of the particle radiation. Here, we report on a direct radiolabeling approach of rituximab with the (99m)Tc- and (188)Re-tricarbonyl core (IsoLink technology).

Direct imaging of the visible emission bands from individual ZnO nanowires by near-field optical spectroscopy.

Room-temperature photoluminescence (PL) measurements have been performed on single-crystal ZnO nanowires grown on SiO2/Si and quartz substrates by the vapor transport method using Au as a catalyst. Two emission bands are apparent, one in the UV spectral region around 380 nm (3.26 eV) associated with exciton recombination processes and a much broader structure in the visible range from 420 to 700 nm, which exhibits two distinct peak-like features around 520 and 590 nm (2.

Thickness-dependent structural transitions in fluorinated copper-phthalocyanine (F16CuPc) films.

The detailed structure of F16CuPc films on SiO2 has been determined by means of in situ grazing incidence X-ray diffraction from the first monolayer to thicker films. In contrast to films of the homologous H16CuPc molecule, the F16CuPc films exhibit the same structure independently from the deposition temperature. The films show a thickness-dependent polymorphism manifested in the in-plane crystal structure, which implies large differences in the molecular tilt within the cofacial stacking of the molecules.

In situ study of the growth of nanodots in organic heteroepitaxy.

We report the self-organization of organic nanodots with high crystallinity during the growth of organic heterostructures of Di-indenoperylene (DIP) onto copper-hexadecafluorophthalocyanine (F16CuPc), donor and acceptor molecules, respectively. The process is related to the Stranski-Krastanov growth mode, which is accompanied by a novel type of structural reconstruction of the underlying organic film. This reconstruction affects three monolayers adjacent to the organic interface.