Speaker
Summary
Introduction and Description of the Project
Research on radionuclide production for nuclear medicine is crucial to advance diagnostic and therapeutic applications. This study investigates the production of Terbium (Tb) radionuclides through proton-induced reactions on natural Gadolinium (natGd) targets. Targets were prepared via the molecular plating (MP) technique. Excitation functions for 155Tb and co-produced radionuclides were measured, with emphasis on 155Tb (T1/2 = 5.32 d) due to its favorable decay properties for SPECT imaging [1].
The MP process is a simple and reproducible electrodeposition method in non-aqueous solutions under high voltages (100–800 V), allowing the fabrication of homogeneous layers [2,3]. Experimental parameters were optimized using Ti substrates as cathode, Pt as anode, and Gd3+ ions (0.05 mg·mL-1) in isopropyl alcohol. The electrolyte solution was homogenized with a mechanical stirrer (250 rpm) at room temperature.
Irradiations were carried out at the GIP ARRONAX cyclotron facility [4] using the stacked-foil technique. Two irradiation campaigns (40–47 min, 125–150 nA) were performed with stacks containing natCu and natTi foils as flux monitors. Gd was deposited on the Ti foil and Al foils have been used as degraders, to protect the deposition and as a catcher.
Results and conclusion
The manufactured targets were homogeneous and Gd well-adhered to Ti substrates. After 200 min of plating, an average of 1.41 ± 0.04 mg of Gd was deposited over 0.31 ± 0.06 cm². Cross section measurements showed good agreement with the literature and simulation data [5–7], while also providing new experimental values for 155Tb and co-produced radionuclides. These results confirm the feasibility of molecular plating as a reliable target preparation method for cross section measurements and radiopharmaceutical production, paving the way for future studies with enriched Gd targets and extending the application to other lanthanides.
References
[1] C. Muller, et al. (2012). A unique matched quadruplet of terbium radioisotopes for PET and SPECT and for - and -radionuclide therapy: an in vivo proof-of-concept study with a new receptor-targeted folate derivative. J Nucl Med 53:1951-9. https://doi.org/10.2967/jnumed.112.107540.
[2] W. Parker, H. Bildstein, N. Getoff, Molecular plating I, a rapid and quantitative method for the electrodeposition of thorium and uranium, Nucl. Instrum. Methods 26 (1964) 55–60.
[3] C.-C., Meyer, et al. (2022) Chemical conversions in lead thin films induced by heavy-ion beams at Coulomb barrier energies. Nuclear Inst. And Methods in Physics Research, A 1028 166365. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2022.166365.
[4] F. Haddad, et al. (2008). ARRONAX, a high-energy and high-intensity cyclotron for nuclear medicine. Eur. J. Nucl. Med. Mol. Imag. 35, 1377–1387. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00259-008-0802- 5.
[5] C., Vermeulen, et al. (2012). Cross sections of proton-induced reactions on 𝑛𝑎𝑡Gd with special emphasis on the production possibilities of 152Tb and 155Tb. Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res. B 275, 24–32. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.nimb.2011.12.064.
[6] G. Dellepiane, et at. (2022). Cross section measurement of terbium radioisotopes for an optimized 155Tb production with an 18 MeV medical PET cyclotron. Applied Radiation and Isotopes 184. 10.1016/j.apradiso.2022.110175.
[7] TENDL database, TALYS-based evaluated nuclear data library. (2023). https://tendl.web.psi.ch/tendl_2023/tendl2023.html.
| Are you interested/eligible for the Young Session? | Yes, I am eligible and interested in participating |
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