Expanding the PET radioisotope universe utilizing solid targets on small medical cyclotrons

Molecular imaging with medical radioisotopes enables the minimally-invasive monitoring of aberrant biochemical, cellular and tissue-level processes in living subjects. The approach requires the administration of radiotracers composed of radioisotopes attached to bioactive molecules, the pairing of which considers several aspects of the radioisotope in addition to the biological behavior of the targeting molecule to which it is attached. With the advent of modern cellular and biochemical techniques, there has been a virtual explosion in potential disease recognition antigens as well as targeting moieties, which has subsequently opened new applications for a host of emerging radioisotopes with well-matched properties. Additionally, the global radioisotope production landscape has changed rapidly, with reactor-based production and its long-defined, large-scale centralized manufacturing and distribution paradigm shifting to include the manufacture and distribution of many radioisotopes via a worldwide fleet of cyclotrons now in operation. Cyclotron-based radioisotope production has become more prevalent given the commercial availability of instruments, coupled with the introduction of new target hardware, process automation and target manufacturing methods. These advances enable sustained, higher-power irradiation of solid targets that allow hospital-based radiopharmacies to produce a suite of radioisotopes that drive research, clinical trials, and ultimately clinical care. Over the years, several different radioisotopes have been investigated and/or selected for radiolabeling due to favorable decay characteristics (i.e. a suitable half-life, high probability of positron decay, etc.), well-elucidated chemistry, and a feasible production framework. However, longer-lived radioisotopes have surged in popularity given recent regulatory approvals and incorporation of radiopharmaceuticals into patient management within the medical community. This review focuses on the applications, nuclear properties, and production and purification methods for some of the most frequently used/emerging positron-emitting, solid-target-produced radioisotopes that can be manufactured using small-to-medium size cyclotrons (≤24 MeV).

Radioactive Main Group and Rare Earth Metals for Imaging and Therapy

Radiometals possess an exceptional breadth of decay properties and have been applied to medicine with great success for several decades. The majority of current clinical use involves diagnostic procedures, which use either positron-emission tomography (PET) or single-photon imaging to detect anatomic abnormalities that are difficult to visualize using conventional imaging techniques (e.g., MRI and X-ray). The potential of therapeutic radiometals has more recently been realized and relies on ionizing radiation to induce irreversible DNA damage, resulting in cell death. In both cases, radiopharmaceutical development has been largely geared toward the field of oncology; thus, selective tumor targeting is often essential for efficacious drug use. To this end, the rational design of four-component radiopharmaceuticals has become popularized. This Review introduces fundamental concepts of drug design and applications, with particular emphasis on bifunctional chelators (BFCs), which ensure secure consolidation of the radiometal and targeting vector and are integral for optimal drug performance. Also presented are detailed accounts of production, chelation chemistry, and biological use of selected main group and rare earth radiometals.

Modelling study on production cross sections of 111In radioisotopes used in nuclear medicine

Radiopharmaceuticals are radioactive drugs used for diagnosis or treatment in a tracer quantity with no pharmacological action. The production of radiopharmaceuticals is carried out in the special research centers generally using by the cyclotron systems. Indium-111 is one of the most useful radioisotopes used in nuclear medicine. In this paper, we calculated the production cross sections of 111In radioisotope via 111–114Cd(p,xn) nuclear reactions up to 60 MeV energy. In the model calculations, ALICE/ASH, TALYS 1.6 and EMPIRE 3.2 Malta nuclear reaction code systems were used. The model calculation results were compared to the experimental literature data and TENDL-2014 (TALYS-based) data.

Theoretical study of deuteron induced reactions on 6,7Li, 9Be and 19F targets

The nuclear reactions of the deuteron particles with light nuclei have been extensively investigated in the history of nuclear physics. In this work, the cross-sections of deuteron reactions 6Li(d,n)7Be, 6Li(d,t)5Li, 7Li(d,2n)7Be, 7Li(d,p)8Li, 7Li(d,t)6Li, 9Be(d,p)10Be, 9Be(d,t)8Be, 19F(d,n)20Ne and 19F(d,p)20F were studied for the investigation of structural fusion materials. Excitation functions of these reactions were determined by using ALICE-ASH code considering equilibrium (EQ) and pre-equilibrium (PEQ) effects. The calculated cross-sections, experimental results and TENDL-2011 library data are presented in graphical form.