Dendrimers in nuclear medical imaging

Current progress in the nuclear medicine field has been exploited in the design of tumour-targeting nanoscale carriers being able to deliver radionuclides in a selective manner to improve the outcome of both cancer diagnosis and therapy. In this field dendrimers have a role to play, thanks to their controlled architecture allowing multivalent attachment possibilities of radionuclide chelators and targeting moieties. This perspective highlights the current research focused on discrete dendritic systems as nanoprobes for nuclear medical imaging, both for Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) (Tc-99m, In-111, I-125) and Positron Emission Tomography (PET) (Ga-68). Also a special emphasis is given on radiolabeled (Cu-64, F-18, Br-76, Ga-68, In-111) dendrimers targeting alpha(v)beta(3) integrin as it is a reliable strategy to assess the presence of angiogenesis, one of the most studied and also targeted biological processes.