In Vivo Nuclear Molecular Imaging in Drug Development and Pharmacological Research: New Advances

Dear Colleagues,

Nuclear medicine has played a crucial role in the rapid advancement of non-invasive molecular imaging in drug development and pharmacological research. Nuclear molecular imaging enables the visualization, characterization, and quantification of biological events at the molecular level in live subjects, and provides invaluable real-time insights into disease mechanisms and mechanisms of drug action. A quantitative assessment of drug delivery to the target as well as off-target organs or tissues is important for toxicity evaluation, and thus, nuclear molecular imaging has accelerated the advancement of more efficient therapies and personalized medicine. Positron emission tomography (PET) and single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) have been the mainstream imaging modalities in recent years. The combination of computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provides anatomical information for accurate diagnosis and has become a critical component of imaging for drug development. In addition to various efforts to facilitate this research, the discovery and development of more targeted radiotracers remain an increasingly complex task. This new Special Issue aims to cover recent and promising developments in nuclear molecular imaging for pharmacological studies in animal models and humans. This issue welcomes reviews and original research articles primarily covering the following topics:

• Radiotracer development for imaging and diagnosis, including in vitro targeting validation;
• Radiolabeling techniques, including radiosynthesis, automation, and formulation optimization;
• Radiotracer in vivo biodistribution, targeting, and pharmacological and toxicity evaluation;
• Bench-to-bedside translational research of radiotracers and imaging techniques, including clinical trials and disease mechanism investigation.

Dr. Haitao Wu
Dr. Noriko Sato
Guest Editors

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• in vivo nuclear imaging
• biomarker imaging
• molecular imaging
• PET
• SPECT
• pharmacokinetics
• personalized medicine
• drug development
• molecular pathway