Deuteron induced Tb-155 production, a theranostic isotope for SPECT imaging and auger therapy

Abstract

Several terbium isotopes are suited for diagnosis or therapy in nuclear medicine. Tb-155 is of interest for SPECT imaging and/or Auger therapy. High radionuclide purity is mandatory for many applications in medicine. The quantification of the activity of the produced contaminants is therefore as important as that of the radionuclide of interest. The experiments performed at the ARRONAX cyclotron (Nantes, France), using the deuteron beam delivered up to 34MeV, provide an additional measurement of the excitation function of the Gd-nat(d,x)Tb-155 reaction and of the produced terbium and gadolinium contaminants. In this study, we investigate the achievable yield for each radionuclide produced in natural gadolinium as a function of the deuteron energy. Other reactions are discussed in order to define the production route that could provide Tb-155 with a high yield and a high radionuclide purity. This article aims to improve data for the Gd-nat(d,x) reaction and to optimize the irradiation conditions required to produce Tb-155.

Radioactive Main Group and Rare Earth Metals for Imaging and Therapy

“…In terms of indirect methods, the 156 Dy­(γ,n) 155 Dy → 155 Tb photonuclear reaction was realized in 1981; however, despite excellent radionuclide purity, low production quantities hampered clinical applicability . Despite the need for high-energy protons, the indirect 159 Tb­(p,5n) 155 Dy → 155 Tb route appears to be the most favorable nca approach …”

“…458 Despite the need for highenergy protons, the indirect 159 Tb(p,5n) 155 Dy → 155 Tb route appears to be the most favorable nca approach. 468…”

Electrochemical co-deposition of Ni–Gd2O3 for composite thin targets preparation: Production of 155Tb as a case study

“…Nowadays, it is mainly produced by high-energy spallation reactions followed by mass separation, which requires rare equipment and high cost (Naskar and Lahiri, 2021). Therefore other reaction routes, involving gadolinium targets coupled to light-charged particle beams, are being taken into account to get an increase of 155 Tb supply (Duchemin et al, 2016;Formento-Cavaier et al, 2020;Naskar and Lahiri, 2021;Tárkányi et al, 2014). Enriched Gadolinium targets make it possible through the following reaction routes involving either proton or deuteron beams: 155 Gd(p, n) 155 Tb (threshold energy: 1.61 MeV) or 155 Gd(d,2n) 155 Tb (threshold energy: 3.88 MeV) (Koning et al, 2019).…”

Production Cross-Section Measurements for Terbium Radionuclides of Medical Interest Produced in Tantalum Targets Irradiated by 0.3 to 1.7 GeV Protons and Corresponding Thick Target Yield Calculations

“…Tb-149 has properties suitable for targeted alpha therapy and PET imaging, while Tb-161 is a good candidate for targeted β-therapy and also suitable for SPECT imaging. These radionuclides can be produced e.g., by proton, deuteron or alpha induced reactions on natural or enriched gadolinium (2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7), by neutron irradiation of enriched Gd-160 (8,9) or spallation reactions on materials like tungsten or tantalum (10)(11)(12)(13). The latter production method has been studied in this work in the framework of the ISOLDE facility at CERN, producing radioactive ion beams from 1.4 GeV proton-induced spallation reactions on a solid Ta target.…”