From Radiochemistry of the Lanthanides to 225Ac and the Interference with Richard Baum

In 1990, Heinz Schelbert, one of the pioneers of PET, has been asked during an invited lecture at the ZfK Rossendorf, why it happens that few newly created PET centers have significant success and others do not have at all. His answer was simple and clear: institutions where physicians accept scientists, for instance radio-chemists and physicists as equal partners and where they collaborate truly together, there the progress is programmed. In my scientific carrier, I have been privileged to have those fruitful collaborations, for instance with Prof. W. G. Franke, Clinic of Nuclear Medicine of the Medical Academy Dresden in the late 70-th–end 80-th and further at the end of my carrier with Richard Baum. He is one of those distinguished nuclear medical physicians, he is not only just collaborating with experts in different scientific disciplines (biochemistry, radiochemistry, physics, and others), he is promoting those close collaboration and has created a network around the world independent on political and economic situation in countries like Cuba, China, South Africa, and others. His strong engagement is motivating us in developing new techniques making new radionuclides available toward personalized nuclear medicine. In this contribution, I try to give a historical overview over the related research work that has been performed in Dresden, Dubna, and Geneva starting from the methodical developments for nuclear physics basic research in the late 60-th until the recent input especially with the Tb-isotopes to the Bad Berka activities guided by Richard Baum.