The research groups Molecular Imaging & Radiochemistry and Biomedical Chemistry are concerned with the development of new drug molecules and their use as target-specific, i. e. highly selective contrast agents that bind to specific surface structures for molecular imaging, in particular for positron emission tomography (PET), but also for single-photon emission computer tomography (SPECT), magnetic resonance tomography (MRT), endoradiotherapy and fluorescence imaging.

A typical research project is structured as follows:

1. Synthesis of targeting vectors (mostly small molecules or peptides), which are prepared in multi-step syntheses
2. Derivatization of these molecules so that the contrast-giving tags (chelators for binding radionuclides, fluorescent dyes, particles) can be coupled
3. In the case of the development of a contrast agent for nuclear medicine diagnostics (SPECT or PET) and endoradiotherapy: establishment of radiolabeling with suitable radionuclides.
4. In vitro evaluation of binding properties
5. In vivo and ex vivo evaluation of the compounds