Abstract. Co-58m (t 1/2 =9.10 h, 100% IC) is an attractive radionuclide for localized delivery of radiation dose due to its emission of Auger and conversion electrons with high LET in water (2-18 keV/µm).
58mCo decays to a positron-emitting daughter, 58g Co (t 1/2 =70.86 d, 14.9% β + ), which can be readily detected by Positron Emission Tomography (PET) and hence can be employed to verify the biodistribution of the parent isotope post-treatment in vivo. In this work, we describe 1) the targetry and radiochemistry involved in the production of high specific activity 58m Co; and 2) the results of a pilot radiotherapy study using a Co with a separation efficiency of 96±2% and a specific activity with NOTA of 25±6 GBq/µmol. We have produced ~640 MBq of 58m Co-NOTA-TRC105, with a specific activity of 1.2 MBq/µg, in 800 µL of PBS ready for targeted radioimmunotherapy, which we employed in a group of 4 mice. Post-therapy biodistribution was quantified in vivo via PET imaging of the daughter 58g Co.