PSI’s road to radionuclide development: to infinity and beyond

by Dr Nicholas Philip van der Meulen (PSI Paul Scherrer Institute)

Monday 23 Feb 2026, 11:00 → 13:00 Europe/Rome

C. Villi meeting room

The development and production of novel radiometals for radiopharmaceutical application is a multidisciplinary affair, requiring input from nuclear physicists, material scientists, radiochemists, engineers, radiopharmacists, immunologists, structural biologists, medical physicists, and medical doctors to ensure success. As the radionuclide forms only the initial step of this radiopharmaceutical/medical chain, it is vital to have collaboration between all these disciplines for the radionuclide in question (as a radiopharmaceutical) to reach the clinic. 

The radionuclide development concept adopted consists of particle accelerator or reactor operation, irradiation physics and chemistry, chemical separation and quality control of the final product. A history of the development of radionuclides at PSI, along with current development and projects with partner institutions, will be presented.