Chapter 15
Preclinical PET and SPECT
for Radionanomedicine
Hyung-Jun Im and Gi Jeong Cheon
Abstract Quantitative evaluation of in vivo biodistribution is a prerequisite for the
development of new targeted theranostic probes in nanomedicine. Here in this
chapter the principles of positron emission tomography (PET) and single-photon
emission computed tomography (SPECT) were explained. These two modalities are
now popularly used for small animal studies and yield valuable information of the
biodistribution, pharmacokinetics and final fates of radionanomedicines injected
systemically. Great penetration depth, no background signal and the high sensitivity of PET and SPECT are the advantages for accurate quantification of in vivo
biodistribution. MRI as well as CT was added to these modalities and clarifies the
anatomical details. Simultaneous or sequential acquisition of PET/CT or PET/MRI
allow the understanding of the accurate anatomical distribution of the administered
radiolabeled nanomaterials. In this chapter, basic technical aspects and the application to radionanomedicine of PET and SPECT are detailed.
15.1 Introduction
Quantitative evaluation of in vivo biodistribution is a prerequisite for the development of new targeted theranostic probes in nanomedicine. Radionanomedicine
can provide the real time, quantitative information regarding in vivo biodistribution
including targeting efficiency of nanoparticles (NPs). The positron emission
tomography (PET) and single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) are
H.-J. Im (&)
Department of Transdisciplinary Studies, Graduate School of Convergence
Science and Technology, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea
e-mail: iiihjjj@gmail.com
G. J. Cheon
Department of Nuclear Medicine, Seoul National University College
of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
e-mail: larrycheon@gmail.com
© Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature 2018
D. S. Lee (ed.), Radionanomedicine, Biological and Medical Physics,
Biomedical Engineering, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-67720-0_15
279
Preclinical PET and SPECT
for Radionanomedicine
Hyung-Jun Im and Gi Jeong Cheon
Abstract Quantitative evaluation of in vivo biodistribution is a prerequisite for the
development of new targeted theranostic probes in nanomedicine. Here in this
chapter the principles of positron emission tomography (PET) and single-photon
emission computed tomography (SPECT) were explained. These two modalities are
now popularly used for small animal studies and yield valuable information of the
biodistribution, pharmacokinetics and final fates of radionanomedicines injected
systemically. Great penetration depth, no background signal and the high sensitivity of PET and SPECT are the advantages for accurate quantification of in vivo
biodistribution. MRI as well as CT was added to these modalities and clarifies the
anatomical details. Simultaneous or sequential acquisition of PET/CT or PET/MRI
allow the understanding of the accurate anatomical distribution of the administered
radiolabeled nanomaterials. In this chapter, basic technical aspects and the application to radionanomedicine of PET and SPECT are detailed.
15.1 Introduction
Quantitative evaluation of in vivo biodistribution is a prerequisite for the development of new targeted theranostic probes in nanomedicine. Radionanomedicine
can provide the real time, quantitative information regarding in vivo biodistribution
including targeting efficiency of nanoparticles (NPs). The positron emission
tomography (PET) and single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) are
H.-J. Im (&)
Department of Transdisciplinary Studies, Graduate School of Convergence
Science and Technology, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea
e-mail: iiihjjj@gmail.com
G. J. Cheon
Department of Nuclear Medicine, Seoul National University College
of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
e-mail: larrycheon@gmail.com
© Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature 2018
D. S. Lee (ed.), Radionanomedicine, Biological and Medical Physics,
Biomedical Engineering, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-67720-0_15
279