Production of 43SC radionuclide and radiopharmaceuticals thereof for use in positron emission tomography

摘要

The radionuclide ⁴³Sc is produced at commercially significant yields and at specific activities and radionuclidic purities which are suitable for use in radiodiagnostic agents including imaging agents. In a method, a solid target having an isotopically enriched target layer prepared on an inert substrate is positioned in a specially configured target holder and irradiated with a charged-particle beam of protons or deuterons. The beam is generated using an accelerator such as a biomedical cyclotron at energies ranging from 3 to about 22 MeV. The method includes the use of three different nuclear reactions: a) irradiation of enriched ⁴³Ca targets with protons to generate the radionuclide ⁴³Scin the nuclear reaction ⁴³Ca (p,n)⁴³Sc, b) irradiation of enriched ⁴²Ca targets with deuterons to generate the radionuclide ⁴³Sc in the nuclear reaction ⁴²Ca(d,n)⁴³Sc, and c) irradiation of enriched ⁴⁶Ti targets with protons to generate the radionuclide ⁴³Sc in the nuclear reaction ⁴⁶Ti (p,a)⁴³Sc.