The production and separation of 161Tb with high specific activity at the University of Utah
- University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT (United States); University of Utah
- University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT (United States)
- The Graduate Center of the City University of New York, NY (United States); Hunter College of the City University of New York, NY (United States)
- University of Missouri, Columbia, MO (United States); University of Missouri Research Reactor Center (MURR), Columbia, MO (United States)
- University of Missouri Research Reactor Center (MURR), Columbia, MO (United States)
Targeted radiotherapy (TRT) is an increasingly prominent area of research in nuclear medicine, particularly in the context of treating cancerous tumors. One radionuclide of considerable interest for TRT is terbium-161 (t1/2 = 6.95 days), which undergoes beta emission and shares similar decay properties as 177Lu (FDA-approved as LUTATHERA® and PLUVICTO®). Besides beta emission, 161Tb also emits a significant number of conversion and Auger electrons further enhancing its therapeutic potential. Terbium-161 can be produced using nuclear reactors through an indirect neutron capture reaction, $$^{160}_{64}$$Gd(n,γ) $$^{161}_{64}$$Gd → (3.7 min, β–) $$^{161}_{65}$$Tb, from 160Gd targets. However, a key challenge in utilizing 161Tb for TRT lies in effectively separating target and product materials to attain high specific activity for radiolabeling. Here, we detail the production of no-carrier added 161Tb using low flux research reactors (mean thermal (< 0.625 eV) neutron flux: 1.356 ×1012 n • cm–2 • s–1) like the University of Utah TRIGA Reactor, using enriched 160Gd2O3 targets (1.5 ± 0.3 µCi of 161Tb per mg of 160Gd target per hour of irradiation). We also developed a separation technique based on cation exchange and extraction chromatography, suitable for mCi level irradiations with targets exceeding 200 milligrams. In a simulated full-scale irradiation, 161Tb was successfully isolated from large mass targets using cation exchange (AG 50W-X8, with 2-hydroxyisobutyric acid at 70 mM, pH 4.75) and extraction chromatography (LN Resin, 0.5 – 0.75 M HNO3) methods. Here, this resulted in high apparent molar activities of [161Tb]Tb-DOTA (113 ± 3 MBq/nmol), demonstrating high purity 161Tb relevant for potential future preclinical applications.
- Research Organization:
- University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), Office of Isotope R&D and Production (IRP)
- Grant/Contract Number:
- SC0020955
- OSTI ID:
- 2475657
- Journal Information:
- Applied Radiation and Isotopes, Journal Name: Applied Radiation and Isotopes Vol. 214; ISSN 0969-8043
- Publisher:
- ElsevierCopyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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DECAY OF $sub 64$Gd$sup 161$(3.73 min)