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Researchers report fastest purification of astatine-211 needed for targeted cancer therapy
Astatine-211 recovery from bismuth metal using a chromatography system. Unlike bismuth, astatine-211 forms chemical bonds with ketones.
In a recent study, Texas A&M University researchers have described a new process to purify astatine-211, a promising radioactive isotope for targeted cancer treatment. Unlike other elaborate purification methods, their technique can extract astatine-211 from bismuth in minutes rather than hours, which can greatly reduce the time between production and delivery to the patient.
“Astatine-211 is currently under evaluation as a cancer therapeutic in clinical trials. But the problem is that the supply chain for this element is very limited because only a few places worldwide can make it,” said Jonathan Burns, research scientist in the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station’s Nuclear Engineering and Science Center. “Texas A&M University is one of a handful of places in the world that can make astatine-211, and we have delineated a rapid astatine-211 separation process that increases the usable quantity of this isotope for research and therapeutic purposes.”
The researchers added that this separation method will bring Texas A&M one step closer to being able to provide astatine-211 for distribution through the Department of Energy’s Isotope Program’s National Isotope Development Center as part of the University Isotope Network.
Details on the chemical reaction to purify astatine-211 are in the journal Separation and Purification Technology.
V. Erckmann; W. Kasparek; Y. Koshurinov; L. Lubyako; M. I. Petelin; D. Yu. Shchegolkov; F. Hollmann; G. Michel; F. Noke; F. Purps; ECRH Groups at IPP Greifswald, IPF Stuttgart, IAP Nizhny Novgorod, FZK Karlsruhe, IFP Milano
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 55 | Number 1 | January 2009 | Pages 23-30
Technical Paper | Electron Cyclotron Emission and Electron Cyclotron Resonance Heating | dx.doi.org/10.13182/FST09-A4050
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Experiments on the combination of the high-power wave beams from two gyrotrons and fast switching of the combined beam between two transmission channels are described. The measurements were performed using a high-power resonator diplexer in the optical transmission line of the electron cyclotron heating system for W7-X. The principle and the engineering design of the prototype four-port quasi-optical diplexer is presented. The wave beams from two gyrotrons with output powers of 370 and 560 kW, respectively, have been combined for pulse lengths up to 10 s, limited only by the uncooled mirrors used in the diplexer. By modulating the gyrotron frequency using a fast high-voltage body modulator, controlled toggling of the combined power between the two outputs of the diplexer was demonstrated with switching frequencies of up to 20 kHz.The experiments are compared to theory, showing good agreement when the limited stability of the free-running gyrotrons is taken into account.