DR.S.Balamurugan.

,BPharm,PharmD
Assistant Professor,
Department of Pharmacy practice,
KMCH-COP
Definition

• Nuclear pharmacy is a specialization within the

field of pharmacy that focuses on the
compounding and dispensing of radioactive
substances.
• These substances are used in nuclear medicine.
History of Nuclear Pharmacy
 Becquerel Discovers Radioactivity

• Henri Becquerel, a French physicist who was the physics chair at

the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle in Paris.  In early 1896,
following Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen's discovery of x-rays (1895),
Becquerel experimented with uranium salts to find that they
resulted in exposure of photgraphic plates.  As a result of his
experimentation, he realized that the exposure was a result of
emissions from uranium itself without any need for excitation of
the sample via an external energy source.
 Marie Curie

• Marie Sklodowska Curie was a Polish born, French naturalized

physicist and chemist.  She coined the term
"radioactivity", developed techniques for isolating radioactive
isotopes and discovered the elements polonium and radium.  Over
the period between 1898 and 1902, Marie and her husband Pierre
published 32 papers on the subject of radioactivity
 Nuclear physics

• Nuclear physics is the study of the protons and neutrons at the

centre of an atom and the interactions that hold them together in
a space just a few femtometres (10-15 metres) across. Example
nuclear reactions include radioactive decay, fission, the break-up
of a nucleus, and fusion, the merging of nuclei.
 ATOM

• An atom is the smallest unit of matter that retains all of the chemical
properties of an element. Atoms combine to form molecules, which then
interact to form solids, gases, or liquids.
• For example, water is composed of hydrogen and oxygen atoms that
have combined to form water molecules. Many biological processes are
devoted to breaking down molecules into their component atoms so they
can be reassembled into a more useful molecule.
• All substance are made of atoms.  These have electrons (e) around the
outside,and a nucleus in the middle.The nucleus consists of 
protons (p) and neutrons (n), and is extremely small.
Atomic Particles

• Atoms consist of three basic particles: protons,

electrons, and neutrons.
• The nucleus (center) of the atom contains the
protons (positively charged) and the neutrons
(no charge).
• The outermost regions of the atom are called
electron shells and contain the electrons
(negatively charged).
• Atoms have different properties based on the
arrangement and number of their basic
particles.
 Atomic Number(Z)

• The atomic number is the number of protons in the atom. Atoms must have
equal numbers of protons and electrons.
 MASS NUMBER(A)

• Definition of Mass Numbers: All atoms have a mass number which is

derived from calculating the sum of the total number of neutrons and
protons in an atomic nucleus of a particular atom.

• Mass Numbers = (Number of Protons) + (Number of Neutrons)

 NUCLIDE
• Nuclide, , also called nuclear species, species of atom as
characterized by the number of protons, the number of neutrons,
and the energy state of the nucleus.
• A nuclide is thus characterized by the mass number (A) and the 
atomic number (Z)
• Chlorine-37, the nucleus of which consists of 17 protons and 20
neutrons, is a different nuclide from sodium-23 (nucleus of 11
protons and 12 neutrons) or chlorine-35 (nucleus of 17 protons and
18 neutrons)
 NUCLIDE

• Nuclides are commonly expressed in the form A/ZX,

where A denotes the total number of protons and
neutrons, Z represents the number of protons, and the difference
between A and Z is the number of neutrons. Thus 37/17Cl signifies
chlorine-37.
 Isotopes

• Isotopes are atoms with the same number of protons but that have
a different number of neutrons.
• Since the atomic number is equal to the number of protons and
the atomic mass is the sum of protons and neutrons,
• we can also say that isotopes are elements with the same
atomic number but different mass numbers(i.e different
numbers of neutrons in the nucleus)
ISOTOPES OF HYDROGEN
 STABLE AND UNSTABLE ISOTOPES

• The nuclei of elements of low atomic number are most stable if

the number of neutrons is equal to or slightly greater(1more) than
the number of protons.
• If the neutron number is less or significantly greater(2 or
more)than number of protons, the nucleus is unstable.
 The electron volts

• The energy of of radiations is measured in electron volts(eV) or

millions of electron volts(MeV).
• An electron volt is the energy acquired by an electron in falling
through a potential difference of 1 volt.

1eV=10-19Joules
 Pharmacological effects of nuclear

• Typically ,radiopharmaceutical lack pharmacological effects

because the mass quantities range from picogram(pg) to
nanogram(ng) per kilogram(kg) of administered dose.
 Route of administration

• I.V Solutions or Suspension

• Intradermal
• Oral
• Interstitial
• Inhalation
 Types of Radiation

• When atoms decay, they emit three types of radiation,

Alpha
Beta
Gamma Radiation
ALPHA PARTICLES

• Alpha particles are made of 2

protons and 2 neutrons.
• This means that they have
a charge of +2, and
a mass of 4 (the mass is
measured in "atomic mass
units", where each proton &
neutron=1)
• Alpha particles are
relatively slow and heavy.
ALPHA PARTICLES

• Their range is a few cm in air and a

fraction of a mm in body tissues.
• They have discrete energies, typically
4MeV
• It is not used in pharmaceutical
preparations
• Many of the naturally occurring
radioactive materials in the earth, like
uranium and thorium, emit alpha
particles.
• An example most people are familiar
with is the radon in our homes.
RUTHERFORD
BETA PARTICLES

• If the nucleus has too many

neutrons, a neutron will turn
into a proton and emit a fast-
moving electron. This electron is
called a beta (β) particle – this
process is known as beta
radiation
• May be charged negatively
(negatron or electron) or
Positively(positron).
BETA PARTICLES

•  Beta particles are high-energy, high-

speed electrons or positrons emitted by
certain types of radioactive nuclei such
as potassium-40.
• The beta particles have greater range of
penetration than alpha particles, but still
much less than gamma rays.
• The beta particles emitted are a form of
ionizing radiation also known as beta
rays. The production of beta particles is
termed beta decay.
GAMMA RADIATION

• This is similar to X- radiation but

while gamma radiation is emitted
from the nucleus ,X-ray radiation
is produced from planetary
electrons.
• Gamma rays are a high-frequency
form of electromagnetic
radiation, so they travel at the
speed of light. 
GAMMA RADIATION

• It is an electromagnetic
radiation it has no mass or
charge .
GAMMA RADIATION

•  Emission of gamma rays often follows

emission of alpha or beta particles; when
a nucleus ejects an alpha or beta particle,
it is left in an excited or higher-energy
state, and it can fall to a lower energy
state by releasing a gamma ray photon.
• Gamma rays have much higher
penetrating power than alpha or beta
particles -- so much so, in fact, that they
can penetrate through buildings or
bodies.