Development of chelators for 225Ac-based radiopharmaceuticals

In this project we will develop chelators which are designed for the coordination chemistry of 225Ac. In addition to this we will synthesize ligands which are bifunctional chelators that not only form strong and stable bonds with 225Ac, but also allow to easily couple the actinium complex to a vector molecule. The new bifunctional chelators should overcome the difficult and lengthy labeling chemistry of the currently applied chelators. Development of these bifunctional chelators will enable fast and facile radiolabeling of biomolecules (small proteins, antibodies, nanobodies, …) targeting of any kind of tumor with 225Ac. In this way we aim to improve current practice in radiolabeling radiopharmaceuticals using 225Ac.