Research and development of cyclotron solid target manufacturing techniques for medical radionuclide production

by Dr Sara Cisternino (INFN - LNL)

Tuesday 15 Apr 2025, 10:00 → 12:00 Europe/Rome

C. Villi meeting room

Nuclear Medicine (NM) is the branch of medicine that involves the use of specific radionuclides to carry out diagnosis investigations (SPECT or PET imaging), therapy or both (theranostics), which is nowadays the new frontier of NM. The radionuclides are chemically bound to a molecule to form what is generally known as “radiopharmaceutical” that can selectively interact with cells of interest through specific biochemical routes.

In recent years, the scientific community has shed light on innovative radionuclides that hold great promise for the so-called “precision medicine”. Among them, radiometals with theranostic/therapy properties are gaining attention because they can be used to label molecules better suited to specific pathologies, and even to produce drugs for therapeutic applications.

Most desired radiometals are usually produced with the direct activation method by cyclotron irradiation of a solid target. To this end, the SPES cyclotron at INFN-LNL may represent a resource for the advancement of the research in this field.

The manufacturing of solid targets is quite a challenging process, which relies on many aspects, covering different areas of knowledge. Consequently, research and development activities focusing on solid target manufacturing technology are of crucial importance to ensure reasonable radionuclides supply meeting the requested radionuclide/radiochemical purity.

In this seminar I will explore the main requirements for the design and manufacture of solid targets for nuclear cross-section measurements and for the actual radioisotope production. A focus will be given on the aspects related to the selection of suitable manufacturing techniques. Over the past decade, in the framework of the LARAMED program and its associated projects, innovative techniques in this field have been explored. Among them, HIgh energy VIbrational Powder Plating (HIVIPP), Magnetron Sputtering (MS) and Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) processes have shown great potential. Indeed, the manufactured targets of different materials have been successfully used for nuclear cross-section measurements and for radionuclides production by medical cyclotron. The dedicated apparatus and the main outcomes will be presented.