A novel approach to medical radioisotope production using inverse kinematics: A successful production test of the theranostic radionuclide 67Cu

Abstract

A novel method for the production of important medical radioisotopes has been developed. The approach is based on performing the nuclear reaction in inverse kinematics, namely sending a heavy-ion beam of appropriate energy on a light target (e.g. H, d, He) and collecting the isotope of interest. In this work, as a proof-of-concept, we studied the production of the theranostic radionuclide 67 Cu (T 1/2 =62 h) via the reaction of a 70 Zn beam at 15 MeV/nucleon with a hydrogen gas target. The 67 Cu radionuclide, alongside other coproduced isotopes, was collected after the gas target on an Al catcher foil and their radioactivity was measured by offline γ-ray analysis. After 36 h from the end of the irradiation, apart from the product of interest 67 Cu, the main radioimpurity coming from the 70 Zn+p reaction was 69m Zn (T 1/2 =13.8 h) that can be reduced by further radio-cooling. Moreover, along with the radionuclide of interest produced in inverse kinematics, the production of additional radioisotopes is possible by making use of the forward-focused neutrons from the reaction and letting them interact with a secondary target. A preliminary successful test of this concept was realized in the present study. The main requirement to obtain activities appropriate for preclinical studies is the development of high-intensity heavy-ion primary beams.

A novel approach to medical radioisotope production using inverse kinematics

“…The methodology to produce medically important radionuclides using inverse kinematics [1] has been tested with success. The production of the radionuclide 67 Cu (T 1/2 =62 h) through the reaction of a beam of 15 MeV/nucleon 70 Zn with a cryogenic hydrogen gas target was performed.…”

“…As the quantity of material required to prepare heavy-ion beam is less than that used in the standard solid target approach, material costs are expected to be considerably reduced through this methodology. A detailed discussion about the methodology can be found in [1].…”

Enhanced production of 99Mo in inverse kinematics heavy ion reactions

“…The approach is based on performing the nuclear reaction in inverse kinematics, namely sending a heavy-ion beam of appropriate energy on a light target and isotopes of interest are collected. The production of the theranostic radionuclide 67 Cu (T 1/2 = 62 h) was performed through the reaction of a 70 Zn beam at 15 MeV/nucleon with a hydrogen gas target [1]. The 67 Cu radionuclide alongside other coproduced isotopes were collected after the gas target on an aluminum catcher foil and their radioactivities were measured by offline γ-ray analysis.…”