High Specific Activity Radiometal and Radiometalloid Chemistry for Development of Potential Radiopharmaceuticals

Silvia Jurisson, University of Missouri
Wednesday, Oct 18, 4:10 PM - Nuclear Science Seminar
1200 FRIB Laboratory

Abstract:  Rhenium-186 (186Re), arsenic-77 (77As), and rhodium-105 (105Rh) are radionuclides with nuclear properties suitable for “theranostics” in that they emit both beta particles for radiotherapy and gamma rays for imaging, with 90 h, 38.8 h and 35.4 h half-lives, respectively. Additionally, 72As is a positron emitter that is a true “matched pair” radioisotope for 77As. All of these radionuclides can be produced in high specific activity at either an accelerator or nuclear reactor. High specific activity 77As and 105Rh are produced by thermal neutron irradiation of 76Ge or 104Ru, followed by beta decay, with the 77As and 105Rh separated from the enriched targets. High specific activity 186Re can be produced by either proton or deuteron irradiation of enriched 186W or by proton irradiation of enriched Os targets, again followed by separation of the 186Re- from its target material. Sulfur-containing chelates (either thiols or thioethers) are used to form stable complexes with these radionuclides. The chemistry and radiochemistry from production through preliminary biological studies will be presented.