Watch the talk of the TUM-IAS Wednesday Coffee Talk “A LEGO-like Strategy to Assemble the Next Generation of Radiopharmaceuticals” by Angela Casini

On 21 January 2026, Angela Casini (Chair of Medicinal and Bioinorganic Chemistry) talked about “A LEGO-like Strategy to Assemble the Next Generation of Radiopharmaceuticals”

Abstract: In the context of targeted radiotherapy and imaging, new chemical strategies and concepts in the making and breaking of bonds are necessary to tackle some of the limitations of the conventional radiotracers design. For example, new approaches to increase the overall design flexibility of the radiopharmaceutical, including the possibility to integrate multiple functionalities in the same system for multimodal imaging/therapy, and to broaden the targeting concept – e.g., to deliver the radioactivity to cancer sites within ‘undruggable’ organs such as the brain – are needed.

Moreover, different chemical strategies are required to achieve control over the radiopharmaceutical’s biodistribution and metabolism, reducing background radiation while optimizing the therapeutic window. 

In this lecture, I will present a few examples of unconventional supramolecular chemistry (“chemistry beyond the molecule”) that address some of the aforementioned challenges in designing radiopharmaceuticals as dual platforms with targeted therapeutic and diagnostic capabilities. 

THE TUM-IAS WEDNESDAY COFFEE TALKS

Every Wednesday after lunch, it's all about a new topic - current research highlights at TUM, insights into the work of our Fellows from all over the world, sometimes even topics not usually found at TUM, such as history or theology.

The talks held online start every Wednesday during TUM lecture time at 13:00 CE(S)T. Everyone is welcome - TUM researchers of all levels, students, visiting scholars, and anyone interested!

Each final Wednesday of the month, a topic related to the United Nations' 17 Sustainable Development Goals will be featured as a part of the Seminar Series of European Universities on Sustainability, a new initiative of the TUM-IAS in partnership with universities across Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe.

Would you like to receive regular updates on the TUM-IAS Wednesday Coffee Talk and the online link? Just send a short note to events@ias.tum.de.

An overview of upcoming and past TUM-IAS Wednesday Coffee Talks can be found at the TUM-IAS Wednesday Coffee Talk Overview.