Fibrous materials are prominent among novel chromatographic supports for the separation and purification of biomolecules. In this work, strong anion exchange, quaternary ammonium (Q) functional fibrous adsorbents were evaluated with regards to their physical and functional characteristics. A column packed with Q fibrous adsorbent illustrated the good column packing efficiency of theoretical plate height (H) values and higher permeability coefficients (>0.9 × 10⁻⁷ cm²) than commercial adsorbents. For pulse experiments with acetone and lactoferrin as tracers under nonbinding conditions, the total porosity (for acetone) and the interstitial porosity (for lactoferrin) measured 0.97 and 0.47, respectively. The total ionic capacity of the chemically-functionalized Q fiber was 0.51 mmol/mL. The results indicated that the Q fiber had a static binding capacity of 140 mg/mL and a dynamic binding capacity (DBC) of 76 mg/mL for bovine serum albumin (BSA) and showed a linearly-scalable factor (~110 mL) for a column volume with high capacity and high throughput. Furthermore, this adsorptive material had the ability to bind the high molecular weight protein, thyroglobulin, with a capacity of 6 mg/mL. This work demonstrated the column-packed Q fibrous adsorption system as a potential chromatography support that exhibits high capacity at higher flow rates.

The rapidly growing interest in the application of nanoscience in the future design of radiopharmaceuticals and the development of nanosized radiopharmaceuticals in the late 2000′s, resulted in the creation of a Coordinated Research Project (CRP) by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in 2014. This CRP entitled ‘Nanosized delivery systems for radiopharmaceuticals’ involved a team of expert scientist from various member states. This team of scientists worked on a number of cutting-edge areas of nanoscience with a focus on developing well-defined, highly effective and site-specific delivery systems of radiopharmaceuticals. Specifically, focus areas of various teams of scientists comprised of the development of nanoparticles (NPs) based on metals, polymers, and gels, and their conjugation/encapsulation or decoration with various tumor avid ligands such as peptides, folates, and small molecule phytochemicals. The research and development efforts also comprised of developing optimum radiolabeling methods of various nano vectors using diagnostic and therapeutic radionuclides including Tc-99m, Ga-68, Lu-177 and Au-198. Concerted efforts of teams of scientists within this CRP has resulted in the development of various protocols and guidelines on delivery systems of nanoradiopharmaceuticals, training of numerous graduate students/post-doctoral fellows and publications in peer reviewed journals while establishing numerous productive scientific networks in various participating member states. Some of the innovative nanoconstructs were chosen for further preclinical applications—all aimed at ultimate clinical translation for treating human cancer patients. This review article summarizes outcomes of this major international scientific endeavor.