Production methods of Radiopharmaceutials
Although I have been moving more to radiochemistry and development of novel radiopharmaceuticals, I do keep in mind practicalities of radiopharmaceutical production. Since I work for 5 years in a Nuclear Medicine Clinic and possibly due to my basic training as a pharmacist and later specialisation as radiopharmacist, I will always keep this question in mind. How can we produce radiopharmaceuticals more safe, efficient and cost-effective. An ongoing project with one of my PhD students is focused on the quality control of 225Ac-radiopharmaceuticals.
Kleynhans J*, Rubow S, Le Roux J, Marjanovic-Painter B, Zeevaart JR, Ebenhan T. Production of [68Ga]Ga-PSMA: comparing a manual kit-based method with a module-based automated synthesis approach. J Label Compd Radiopharm. 2020; 63(13): 553-563. PubMed PMID: 32865290 (IF 0.9). DOI: 10.1002/jlcr.3879.
Le Roux J *, Kleynhans J, Rubow S. The use of HEPES-buffer in the production of gallium-68 radiopharmaceuticals – time to reconsider strict pharmacopoeial limits? EJNMMI Radiopharm Chem. 2021; 6:15. PubMed PMID: 33796967 (IF 4.6). DOI: 10.1186/s41181-021-00129-w.
International Atomic Energy Agency. Production and quality control of actinium-225 radiopharmaceuticals. IAEA-TECDOC-2057, IAEA, Vienna 2024. DOI: 10.61092/iaea.95h3-2ji2.
Lutetium article to follow soon.
Preclinical development of novel radiopharmaceuticals
My true passion lies in the development of novel radiopharmaceuticals - therapeutic and diagnostic. This is also where my main focus will fall in the upcoming 5 years, as I build my own research group. Whilst my interest will now mostly shift to colorectal cancer, I will remain involve in infectious imaging and broader theranostic development for oncology in connection with the various clinical collaborations in South Africa as well as the various PhD students I co-supervise.
Eigner S, Kleynhans J, Beckford Vera DR, Sathekge MM, Eigner Henke K, Ebenhan T*. Visualisation of in vivo protein synthesis during mycobacterial infection through [68Ga]Ga-DOTA-puromycin µPET/MRI. Sci Rep. 2024 14:19250. PubMed PMID: 39164329 (IF 3.9). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-70200-4.
Kleynhans J, Reeve R, Driver CHS, Marjanovic-Painter B, Sathekge M, Zeevaart JR, Ebenhan T, Millar RP*. Synthesis and characterisation of DOTA-kisspeptin-10 as a potential gallium-68/lutetium-177 pan-tumour radiopharmaceutical. J Neuroendocrinol. 2025; 37(3):e13487. PubMed PMID: 39775975 (IF 4.1). DOI: 10.1111/jne.13487.
Narykina V, Kleynhans J, Cawthorne C, Schymokowitz J, Rousseau F, Bormans G*. Development and evaluation of HSP90-targeting nanobodies for visualisation of extracellular HSP90 in tumours using PET imaging. EJNMMI Radiopharm Chem. 2025;10:10. PubMed PMID: 39982615 (IF 4.6). DOI: 10.1186/s41181-025-00331-0.
Muriel Article
FAP article
Clinical implementation of radiopharmaceuticals
As a responsible radiopharmacist in South Africa, and also during my senior postdoctoral fellowship at KU Leuven, I was directly involved in establishing clinical production programmes for advanced diagnostic and therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals. These activities included the development of production protocols, implementation of quality systems, regulatory compliance and support of clinical investigators. Most notably, I contributed to the clinical implementation of a radiopharmaceutical for the diagnosis of bone metastasis (gallium-68 NODAGA-ZOL) and also participated in the implementation of the highly successful therapy agent for metastatic prostate cancer actinium-225 PSMA. More recently at KU Leuven, I assisted with the clinical implementation (as second project lead and second last author) on the clinical translation of fibroblast activation protein targeted radiopharmaceuticals to image multiple types of cancers.
Storms W, Celen S, Maes J, Serdons K, Goffin K, De Groot T, Trump L, Warnier C, Gendron T, Gerardy R, Van Laere K, Deroose CM, Kleynhans J, Cleeren F*. cGMP-compliant high-yield automated production of [18F]AlF-FAPI-74: optimization of quality control and evaluation of molar dose impact. EJNMMI Radiopharmacy and Chemistry. PubMed PMID: 41391071 (IF 4.6). DOI: 10.1186/s41181-025-00411-1.
Lawal IO, Mokoala KMG, Mahapane J, Kleynhans J, Meckel M, Vorster M, Ebenhan T, Rӧsch F, Sathekge MM*. A prospective intra-individual comparison of [68Ga]Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT, [68Ga]Ga-NODAGAZol PET/CT and [99mTc]Tc-MDP bone scintigraphy for radionuclide imaging of prostate cancer skeletal metastases. EJNMMI. 2021; 48: 134-142. PubMed PMID: 32424485 (IF 7.6). DOI: 10.1007/s00259-020-04867-y.
Nuclear Medicine in Africa
One of the more interesting questions in current Nuclear Medicine practice is on how to spread the technology and give equitable access. On the podcast featured here, I was invited to share my thoughts on the status of Nuclear Medicine in Africa. Together with the International Atomic Energy Agency, we aim to constantly provide an updated picture of the current status, and provide access to data that can assist in planning capacity building in the African region. Some of the expert missions that I did on behalf of the International Atomic Energy Agency took me to Ethiopia, Nigeria, Egypt and Kenya. I hope to visit many more of my friends in Africa.
Brink A*, Kleynhans J, Grigoryan A, Omar W, Mekonnen BW, Kolade OU, Mokoala K, Sangiwa BA, Hashford F, Nagaraj H, Sakr TM, Giammarile F, Estrada-Lobato E, Elrefaei A, Knoll P, Korde A, Paez D. The current status of Nuclear Medicine in Africa. Journal of Nuclear Medicine. 2026; 67(2):196-203. DOI: 10.2967/jnumed.125.271248.
Kleynhans J*, Summers B, Sakr T, Zeevaart JR, Lundi M, Du Plessis S, Mosima L, Bentaleb N, Ekoume FP, Hlowngwa K, Shambel S, Mdlophane A, Mangatha A, More S. Spotlight: the status of radiopharmacy in Africa. Clin Trans Imaging. 2023; 12:113-118. Not indexed on PubMed. (IF 1.6). DOI: 10.1007/s40336-023-00594-0.
Mapping Nuclear Medicine
Tosato M, Favaretto C, Kleynhans J, Burgoyne AR, Gestin JF, Van Der Meulen N, Jalilian A, Kӧster U, Asti M, Radchenko V*. Alpha Atlas: mapping global production of α-emitting radionuclides for targeted alpha therapy. Nucl Med Biol. 2025; 142-143: 108990. PubMed PMID: 389809026 (IF 3.0). DOI: 10.1016/j.nucmedbio.2024.108990.
Beta Atlas A
Beta Atlas B