This chapter summarizes some metal complexes that have been used in
recent years to diagnose disease states. Gamma scintigraphy, positron emission
tomography (PET), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are discussed as diagnostic
imaging modalities. With the three imaging modalities, metal complexes are used to
image a variety of diseases, including heart disease, brain tumors, and cancer. It has
been shown that many different radiometals can be used in the synthesis of
coordination compounds for gamma scintigraphy and PET, and each of these will be
discussed separately. Besides that, metal complex chemistry encompasses an extensive
area of study that analyzes radiometals. The development of coordination compounds
for MRI enhancement and radiopharmaceuticals, particularly those that have been used
in vivo in the case of humans, are described. Essentially, this chapter aims to show that
coordination chemistry has made significant progress toward the development of
diagnostic imaging agents as a whole.
Keywords: Diagnostic imaging agents, MRI, Metal complexes, PET, SPECT.
