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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.
F. Leuterer, M. Münich, F. Brandl, H. Brinkschulte, G. Grünwald, A. Manini, F. Monaco, F. Ryter, H. Schütz, J. Stober, D. Wagner, W. Kasparek, G. Gantenbein, L. Empacher, C. Lechte, H. Kumric, P. Schüller, A. Litvak, A. Chirkov, G. Denisov, A. Fix, V. Illin, S. Malygin, V. Miasnikov, V. Nichiporenko, L. Popov, E. Tai, V. Zapevalov
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 55 | Number 1 | January 2009 | Pages 31-44
Technical Paper | Electron Cyclotron Emission and Electron Cyclotron Resonance Heating | dx.doi.org/10.13182/FST09-A4051
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
In 1989 the planning for a 140-GHz, 2-MW, 2-s electron cyclotron resonance heating system for ASDEX Upgrade started. These plans were finally approved in 1993. The system comprises four gyrotrons with four separate transmission lines and launchers. Although a 0.5-s test gyrotron was already installed in autumn 1994, it was only in summer 1997 when the first gyrotron of the final system was ready for use in the experiments, and in spring 2000 the system was completed with all four gyrotrons. This paper reviews the experience gained in construction and operation of this system. In particular, we describe how we solved problems with external magnetic fields affecting gyrotron operation. These fields originate both from the tokamak and from the cryomagnet of adjacent gyrotrons. We also report about the gyrotron performance, our techniques for the alignment of the transmission lines, the calibration of the polarizer mirrors, and the power calibration.