Accelerator-based production of the 99mTc-186Re diagnostic-therapeutic pair using metal disulfide targets (MoS2, WS2, OsS2)

Evaluation of 186WS2 target material for production of high specific activity 186Re via proton irradiation: separation, radiolabeling and recovery/recycling

Enriched tungsten disulfide (186WS2) was evaluated at increasing proton beam currents (20–50 μA) and times (up to 4 h) on a GE PETtrace cyclotron for production of high specific activity (HSA) 186Re. The HSA 186Re was separated from the irradiated target as [186Re][ReO4]– by a liquid–liquid extraction method and radiolabeled with a new N2S2 ligand (222-MAMA-N-ethylpropionate). The enriched 186W was recovered from the extraction process, analyzed for purity and enrichment, and converted back to the disulfide (186WS2). The results demonstrate that the 186WS2 is an easily pressed target material that can withstand relatively high currents and can be readily recovered and recycled. The 186Re produced was isolated in high specific activity and readily formed the radiotracers [186Re][ReO(222-MAMA-N-ethylpropionate)] and [186Re][Re(CO)3(OH2)3] +.

Bifunctional chelators for radiorhenium: past, present and future outlook

Targeted radionuclide therapy (TRNT) is an ever-expanding field of nuclear medicine that provides a personalised approach to cancer treatment while limiting toxicity to normal tissues. It involves the radiolabelling of a biological targeting vector with an appropriate therapeutic radionuclide, often facilitated by the use of a bifunctional chelator (BFC) to stably link the two entities. The radioisotopes of rhenium, 186Re (t 1/2 = 90 h, 1.07 MeV β-, 137 keV γ (9%)) and 188Re (t 1/2 = 16.9 h, 2.12 MeV β-, 155 keV γ (15%)), are particularly attractive for radiotherapy because of their convenient and high-abundance β--particle emissions as well as their imageable γ-emissions and chemical similarity to technetium. As a transition metal element with multiple oxidation states and coordination numbers accessible for complexation, there is great opportunity available when it comes to developing novel BFCs for rhenium. The purpose of this review is to provide a recap on some of the past successes and failings, as well as show some more current efforts in the design of BFCs for 186/188Re. Future use of these radionuclides for radiotherapy depends on their cost-effective availability and this will also be discussed. Finally, bioconjugation strategies for radiolabelling biomolecules with 186/188Re will be touched upon.

Fusion-Based Neutron Generator Production of Tc-99m and Tc-101: A Prospective Avenue to Technetium Theranostics

Presented are the results of ^99mTc and ¹⁰¹Tc production via neutron irradiation of natural isotopic molybdenum (Mo) with epithermal/resonance neutrons. Neutrons were produced using a deuterium-deuterium (D-D) neutron generator with an output of 2 × 10¹⁰ n/s. The separation of Tc from an irradiated source of bulk, low-specific activity (LSA) Mo on activated carbon (AC) was demonstrated. The yields of ^99mTc and ¹⁰¹Tc, together with their potential use in medical single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) procedures, have been evaluated from the perspective of commercial production, with a patient dose consisting of 740 MBq (20 mCi) of ^99mTc. The number of neutron generators to meet the annual 40,000,000 world-wide procedures is estimated for each imaging modality: ^99mTc versus ¹⁰¹Tc, D-D versus deuterium-tritium (D-T) neutron generator system outputs, and whether or not natural molybdenum or enriched targets are used for production. The financial implications for neutron generator production of these isotopes is also presented. The use of ¹⁰¹Tc as a diagnostic, therapeutic, and/or theranostic isotope for use in medical applications is proposed and compared to known commercial nuclear diagnostic and therapeutic isotopes.

Potential Application of Ionic Liquids for Electrodeposition of the Material Targets for Production of Diagnostic Radioisotopes

An overview of the reported electrochemistry studies on the chemistry of the element for targets for isotope production in ionic liquids (ILs) is provided. The majority of investigations have been dedicated to two aspects of the reactive element chemistry. The first part of this review presents description of the cyclotron targets properties, especially physicochemical characterization of irradiated elements. The second part is devoted to description of the electrodeposition procedures leading to obtain elements or their alloys coatings (e.g., nickel, uranium) as the targets for cyclotron and reactor generation of the radioisotopes. This review provides an evaluation of the role ILs can have in the production of isotopes.

Cyclotron production of no carrier added 186gRe radionuclide for theranostic applications

^186gRe (T_1/2 = 3.7183 d, E_(β^-_)mean = 346.7 keV, I_(β^-_)mean = 92.59%), a mixed beta and γ-emitter shows great potential for use in theranostic applications. The dominant ¹⁸⁵Re(n,γ) route, via use of a nuclear reactor, provides ^186gRe in carrier added form with low specific activity, while cyclotrons offer no carrier-added (NCA) high specific activity production of ^186gRe. However, to be able to select the best possible nuclear reaction and to optimize the production route via the use of a cyclotron, information on the excitation function for the reaction of interest as well as for the competing reactions is necessary. Accordingly, we have conducted a detailed study of the excitation functions for ^natW(d, x) reactions in seeking optimized parameters for the NCA production of ^186gRe. Noting a discrepancy among the experimental data, we made an evaluation of the available literature, finally selecting optimum parameters for the production of ^186gRe via the ¹⁸⁶W(d,2n)¹⁸⁶Re reaction. These beam parameters were then used for batch production of ^186gRe by irradiating an enriched ¹⁸⁶W metallic powder target, followed by a subsequent automated chemical separation process. The preliminary results show 98.1% radionuclidic purity of ^186gRe at 8 h subsequent to the End of Bombardment (EOB), offering the potential for use in clinical applications.

Steric influence of salicylaldehyde-based Schiff base ligands on the formation of trans-[Re(PR3)2(Schiff base)]+ complexes

Complexes of the type trans-[Re(PR₃)₂(Schiff base)]⁺ (R = ethyl and/or phenyl) 2-7 were prepared by the reaction of (nBu₄N)[ReOCl₄] with H₂sal₂en or H₂sal₂ibn followed by addition of a tertiary phosphine. The trans-[Re(PR₃)₂(sal₂en)]⁺ complexes 2-4 were stable in solution, whereas the trans-[Re(PR₃)₂(sal₂ibn)]⁺ complexes 6-7 were observed to convert to their corresponding cis-[ReO(PR₃)(sal₂ibn)]⁺ products through a process involving ligand dissociation, metal oxidation, and Schiff base ligand rearrangement. The conversion of the trans-[Re(PR₃)₂(sal₂ibn)]⁺ complexes is likely driven by steric interactions between the bulky backbone gem-dimethyl groups of the sal₂ibn ligand and the phosphine ligands. These complexes were isolated and characterized by ¹H and ¹³C NMR, FT-IR spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry, and single crystal X-ray diffraction. The results reported herein provide insight into the factors that drive trans-[Re(PR₃)₂(Schiff base)]⁺ complex formation. This will aid in the development of novel ^186/188Re therapeutic agents and the design of novel bifunctional N₂O₂ Schiff base ligands.

Technetium and Rhenium Schiff Base Compounds for Nuclear Medicine: Syntheses of Rhenium Analogues to 99mTc-Furifosmin

Rhenium, the third-row congener of technetium, is often used to develop the macroscopic chemistry of potential ^99mTc diagnostic radiopharmaceuticals. The rhenium analogues to ^99mTc-furifosmin are being developed for potential radiotherapy of multidrug-resistant tumors. Complexes of the form trans-[M^III(PR₃)₂(N₂O₂-Schiff base)]⁺ are of interest for the potential imaging and treatment of multidrug-resistant tumors. Reaction of the tetradentate Schiff ligand 4,4'-[(1 E,1' E)-[ethane-1,2-diylbis(azanylylidene)]bis(methanylylidene)]bis(2,2,5,5-tetramethyl-2,5-dihydrofuran-3-ol) (tmf₂enH₂) with the M(V) starting materials ( nBu₄N)[TcOCl₄] and ( nBu₄N)[ReOCl₄] gave the monomeric products trans-[TcOCl(tmf₂en)] and trans-[ReOCl(tmf₂en)], respectively. Reduction of in situ formed trans-[ReOCl(tmf₂en)] by various tertiary phosphines yielded disubstitued Re(III) products of the general type trans-[Re^III(PR₃)₂(tmf₂en)]⁺. The rhenium(III) compounds were found to be water-soluble and stable in aqueous solution. Reversible Re^III/Re^IV and Re^III/Re^II redox processes were observed at about 0.8-0.9 and -0.65 to -0.8 V, respectively, for each of the rhenium(III) species. Reaction of in situ formed trans-TcOCl(tmf₂en) with triethylphosphine yielded the reduced, disubstituted trans-[Tc(PEt₃)₂(tmf₂en)]PF₆. A reversible Tc^III/Tc^II redox couple was observed for the technetium(III) species, about 200 mV less negative than their rhenium(III) analogues, in addition to an irreversible Tc^III/Tc^IV process. All compounds were characterized using conventional spectroscopic techniques, single-crystal X-ray crystallography, and cyclic voltammetry.

Scale-up of high specific activity 186gRe production using graphite-encased thick 186W targets and demonstration of an efficient target recycling process

Production of high specific activity 186gRe is of interest for development of theranostic radiopharmaceuticals. Previous studies have shown that high specific activity 186gRe can be obtained by cyclotron irradiation of enriched 186W via the 186W(d,2n)186gRe reaction, but most irradiations were conducted at low beam currents and for short durations. In this investigation, enriched 186W metal targets were irradiated at high incident deuteron beam currents to demonstrate production rates and contaminants produced when using thick targets. Full-stopping thick targets, as determined using SRIM, were prepared by uniaxial pressing of powdered natural abundance W metal or 96.86% enriched 186W metal encased between two layers of graphite flakes for target material stabilization. An assessment of structural integrity was made on each target preparation. To assess the performance of graphite-encased thick 186W metal targets, along with the impact of encasing on the separation chemistry, targets were first irradiated using a 22 MeV deuteron beam for 10 min at 10, 20, and 27 μA, with an estimated nominal deuteron energy of 18.7 MeV on the 186W target material (after energy degradation correction from top graphite layer). Gamma-ray spectrometry was performed post EOB on all targets to assess production yields and radionuclidic byproducts. The investigation also evaluated a method to recover and recycle enriched target material from a column isolation procedure. Material composition analyses of target materials, pass-through/wash solutions and recycling process isolates were conducted with SEM, FTIR, XRD, EDS and ICP-MS spectrometry. To demonstrate scaled-up production, a graphite-encased 186W target made from recycled 186W was irradiated for ~2 h with 18.7 MeV deuterons at a beam current of 27 μA to provide 0.90 GBq (24.3 mCi) of 186gRe, decay-corrected to the end of bombardment. ICP-MS analysis of the isolated 186gRe solution provided data that indicated the specific activity of 186gRe in this scaled-up production run was 2.6±0.5 GBq/μg (70±10 Ci/mg).

Chemistry and radiochemistry of As, Re and Rh isotopes relevant to radiopharmaceutical applications: high specific activity radionuclides for imaging and treatment

Advances in production, separation, target recovery, and chelation chemistry of high specific activity radionuclides will promote new theranostic agent development.