Department of Neuroradiopharmaceuticals

The main research focus of the Department of Neuroradiopharmaceuticals is the development and evaluation of radiolabelled ligands (radiotracers) in order to investigate brain functions in living organism. The application of the radiotracers provides images of transport, metabolic and neurotransmission processes on the molecular level. The method used in humans to acquire such information is positron emission tomography (PET), the most sensitive and specific method available at present. Through integration of chemical/radiochemical, pharmaceutical/radiopharmaceutical, biochemical and radiopharmacological basic research, computational chemistry and with the aid of nuclear medicine diagnostic, a new approach in neuroscience will be made available. The foremost importance of this approach would be the monitoring of the therapy of glioblastoma or brain diseases such as neurodegeneration. An example for the whole process of radiotracer development from the idea to clinical use was documented in a video of Beilstein-TV.

Already for many years, a close collaboration with the Faculty of Medicine, University of Leipzig (in particular the departments of Nuclear Medicine and Psychiatry and the Paul-Flechsig Institute of Brain Research) and with the Institute of Pharmacy in the field of radiotracer development for neuroimaging of brain diseases exists. These research projects are integrated in the Top Level Research Areas at the University of Leipzig. Further participation in external research projects includes the following fields: obesity, neuroinflammation, and functional imaging.

Research Topics

• Design and synthesis of highly affine and selective histondeacetylase inhibitors for tumour imaging
• Monocarboxylate transporter 1 (MCT1) - a potential target for tumour imaging with PET
• Functional small animal PET/MRT
• Convection-enhanced delivery of nanoparticles for tretament of brain tumours
• Molecular imaging of purinergic signalling in cancer

• Molecular imaging of α7 nAChR in cancer and brain diseases

• New PET Radioligands for Imaging of Cannabinoid Receptors Type 2 (CB2) in the Human Brain

• Radioligands for PET Imaging of Cyclic Nucleotide Phosphodiesterases 2A, 5A and 10A
• Development of ¹⁸F-labelled PET radiotracers for the imaging of σ receptors in cancer and brain diseases
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• [¹⁸F]Flubatine - a PET marker of early Alzheimer`s disease (finished)
• Development of new ligands and ¹⁸F-labelled PET radiotracers for the vesicular acetylcholine transporter (VAChT) in brain (finished)

• Pharmacology and PET-imaging properties of fluorinated derivatives of GABAA receptor ligands (finished)

• Neuroimaging of Traumatic Brain injury (finished)
• Non-peptidic ¹⁸F-labeled PET radiotracers for oxytocin receptor imaging (finished)

• Radioligands for PET imaging of the serotonin transporter (finished)