Translation. Region: Russian Federation –
Source: Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University –
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
The Polytechnic University hosted the international conference "Problems of Applied Spectrometry and Radiometry named after V.N. Danilenko" (PPSR), organized by a group of companies working in the field of recording and measuring ionizing radiation.
The main objective of the meeting was to exchange experiences and become familiar with the current state and development trends of nuclear instrumentation, metrology and methodology, software, and the regulatory framework in the field of practical spectrometry, radiometry, and dosimetry.
The topics discussed by experts throughout the week included: the development and application of equipment, software, methodological, and metrological support for ionizing radiation measurements; certification of radiation monitoring devices; accounting and control of nuclear materials; methods for characterizing radioactive waste of various morphologies for categorization during the decommissioning of nuclear and radiation hazardous facilities; process control at nuclear power plants and enterprises; radiation monitoring and environmental protection; scientific research using nuclear physics methods; legal aspects of radiation safety, etc.
The event program included oral and poster presentations, discussions, and an exhibition of equipment, software, and methodological products. Participants were able to share their latest achievements and practical experience, learn about the current state of spectrometry, radiometry, dosimetry, and nuclear instrumentation, and discuss future developments.
Several SPbPU representatives participated in the meeting. Nikolai Bukharin, Director of the Center for Interdisciplinary Engineering and Production Competencies of the Directorate for Continuing Education and Industry Partnerships, presented a paper entitled "Advanced Training in Radiation Safety in Modern Conditions: New Challenges and Adaptive Approaches." He discussed the history of ionizing radiation sources (IRS) from the USSR to the present day and noted that their expanding use (science, industry, energy, and medicine) requires specialists to possess deeper and more comprehensive knowledge. Nikolai Bukharin emphasized that international and national radiation safety standards developed by the IAEA, Rospotrebnadzor, and Rostekhnadzor are constantly being updated, making regular training mandatory.
The speaker emphasized that most incidents and serious accidents involving radiation sources occur not due to equipment failure, but rather due to human error, underscoring the importance of quality training. Modern programs, in addition to knowledge of regulations, emphasize the development of practical skills: risk assessment, decision-making in non-standard situations, and the use of personal and collective protective equipment. Particular attention is paid to the biological effects of radiation sources, safe and hazardous doses, and the deterministic and stochastic consequences of their effects, including during medical procedures involving radiation sources.
Nikolai Bukharin presented modern educational technologies, specifically the combination of online modules for theoretical training and in-person practical classes, the introduction of business games and group discussions, and emphasized that the key role remains with the instructor. They must be experts in radiation safety and proficient in modern teaching methods.
Continuing education is not a one-time event, but part of a system of continuous professional development, the speaker concludes.
The presentation by Daria Akhmetova, assistant professor at the Graduate School of Biomedical Systems and Technologies at the Institute of Biomedical Systems and Biotechnology and junior research fellow at the Laboratory of Nano- and Microencapsulation of Biologically Active Substances, focused on the study "Automated radiolabeling of zirconium-based metal-organic frameworks with radium-223 for locoregional therapy of breast cancer."
The development of automated radiolabeling methods for promising new materials is highly sought after for the transition to domestic small-scale production of radiopharmaceuticals with unique properties in accordance with good manufacturing practice requirements. Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), due to their high sorption capacity, stability, and compositional variability, are considered promising sorbents and radionuclide carriers for cancer therapy. However, this area of research remains poorly understood. The development of next-generation radiopharmaceuticals faces two key challenges requiring effective approaches. First, the use of promising radium isotopes (e.g., radium-223) is limited by the difficulty of chelation due to their cationic nature and large ionic radius. Second, most laboratory-tested radiolabeling methods are not optimal for automated synthesis and widespread clinical application. The research described by Daria Akhmetova involved the development of an automated method for radiolabeling micro- and nanosized MOFs using UiO-66-NH2 and the isotope radium-223 for use in locoregional tumor therapy.
The resulting 223Ra@MOF complexes are highly stable in vitro and exhibit pronounced antitumor activity against a breast cancer model. The nanoscale form demonstrated a slight advantage in therapeutic efficacy due to enhanced cellular uptake and more uniform distribution upon administration into the tumor. These studies suggest that the developed radiopharmaceuticals based on UiO-66-NH2 MOFs may be highly promising candidates for locoregional radionuclide therapy of oncological diseases, particularly breast cancer.
The work was carried out with the financial support of the Russian Science Foundation No. 25-73-10091 “Design and synthesis of new biocompatible nanostructured metal-organic frameworks containing ROS-producing agents for combined radionuclide therapy of malignant neoplasms.”
Vladislava Rusakova, a research assistant at the Laboratory of Nano- and Microencapsulation of Biologically Active Substances at the IBSiB Research Center for Biomedical Engineering and Biotechnology, also presented a report on the development of a calcium carbonate-based platform for combinatorial radiochemotherapy of melanoma, which focused on the fight against cancer.
One of the key areas of research in the development of diagnostic and therapeutic agents for the treatment of malignant tumors is the creation of particle-based delivery systems with encapsulated anticancer drugs. A key feature of these systems is the reduced toxicity to healthy tissue. When developing drug delivery systems, factors such as the encapsulation rate of the active substance, its release kinetics from the particles, and toxicity must be considered. Calcium carbonate is a popular material for creating microparticles due to its ease of production, cost-effectiveness, biocompatibility, high porosity, and surface reactivity.
Researchers studied the controlled loading of substituted 2-aminothiophene (2-AT) derivatives into calcium carbonate microparticles, drug release in normal and acidic environments, and radiolabeling of the resulting delivery system. They also assessed the toxicity of the microparticles using melanoma cells. The results demonstrated that the microparticles can effectively retain the radium-223 isotope for therapeutic use. These findings support the use of radium-223-labeled calcium carbonate microparticles encapsulated with 2-AT in in vivo studies for the treatment of malignant tumors.
The work was carried out with the financial support of the Russian Science Foundation No. 25-25-00229 “Development of a new method of brachytherapy for breast cancer using calcium-containing nano- and microcarriers.”
The best papers prepared for the meeting will be published in the journal "ANRI," which is included in the List of Leading Scientific Journals and Publications Published in the Russian Federation. Since 2015, the journal has been included in the Chemical Abstracts international abstract database and citation system.
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