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Project Abstract
The aim of this project is the design, fabrication and implementation of a microfluidic architecture able to synthesise radiopharmaceuticals which can be used for standard synthesis protocols as well as for R&D of new radiopharmaceuticals for Positron Emission Tomography (PET) analysis, a technique usually employed in medicine for its unsurpassed sensitivity and specificity. In order to achieve this target, emerging technologies in the field of micro reactors and micro total analysis systems (µ–TAS) have to be applied to the synthetic pathways typical for radiopharmaceuticals, thus improving the traditional approach in terms of efficiency and safety. A deep knowledge of the chemical processes and of the separation techniques involved in radiosynthesis is needed to define the features of the modules to be fabricated as well as state of art techniques in the field of micro fabrications and microfluidics for the implementation of high performance micro devices. Standard synthesis protocols and new radiopharmaceuticals has to be carried into the micro devices thus evaluating their efficiency and versatility. 
The yields and the purity of the products produced into micro devices must be compared with those obtained with traditional methods.
To ensure the success of the overall project an interdisciplinary approach based on a strict collaboration between chemists, physics and engineers is exploited. Therefore an international network collaboration between academic partners dealing with the technological side, an industrial partner for checking the system robustness and a physiological clinical institute able to evaluate the end-user outcome was built.
"Microfluidics for molecular imaging"
