Chapter 59
Nuclear Pharmacy
Radioactive drugs for imaging and therapy
Radiopharmaceuticals
Nuclear pharmacy is a patient-oriented service promoting health through the safe, efficacious use of radioactive drugs for diagnosis and therapy. Radiopharmaceuticals contain a biological moiety (which targets a physiological process) and a radioactive element (radionuclide). Most are used for diagnostic imaging, but some treat hyperthyroidism, thyroid cancer, polycythemia vera, and bone pain.
Radiopharmaceuticals typically lack pharmacological effects because the drug mass is tiny (picograms to nanograms per kg). Most are sterile, pyrogen-free IV solutions.
Radiation Types
There are four radiation types: alpha, beta, gamma, and x-rays. Alpha and beta radiation are NOT useful for imaging (undesirable in diagnostics) but deliver therapeutic tissue damage. Most DIAGNOSTIC agents use penetrating gamma radiation, which is easily detected and converted into images.
📖 “Nuclear pharmacy: safe use of radioactive drugs for diagnosis/therapy. Radiopharmaceutical = biological moiety (targets process) + radionuclide. Mostly diagnostic imaging; therapy for hyperthyroidism, thyroid cancer, polycythemia vera, bone pain. Tiny mass (pg-ng/kg), no pharmacological effect, sterile pyrogen-free IV. Radiation: alpha/beta/gamma/x-ray; gamma for imaging, alpha/beta for therapy.”