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Radionuclide-based Diagnosis and Therapy of Prostate Cancer
Published in Michael Ljungberg, Handbook of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging for Physicists, 2022
Sven-Erik Strand, Mohamed Altai, Joanna Strand, David Ulmert
Lutetium-177 is a medium-energy beta-emitter with a half-life of 6.7 days and a maximum energy of 0.5 MeV (maximum range in tissue of 2 mm). Several accompanying γ-photons (208 keV; 11% and 113 keV; 6.4%) permit diagnostic evaluation and image-based dosimetry during the treatment. 177Lu can be considered as a metallic analogue of 131I with many similarities in terms of mode of decay between the two isotopes, as shown in Table 19.2. 177Lu is produced by irradiation of isotopically enriched 176Lu or 176Yb with reactor neutrons and is available at high specific activity for radiolabelling. High specific activities of 177Lu can be produced via enriched 176Lu as 176Lu(n,γ)177Lu. Together this unique combination of nuclear-physical and chemical properties of 177Lu, ensured its place as one of the most promising and clinically relevant radionuclides in Onco-Nuclear Medicine.
Nuclear Medicine in Oncology
Published in Computer Methods in Biomechanics and Biomedical Engineering: Imaging & Visualization, 2018
Carla Oliveira, Rui Parafita, Ana Canudo, Joana Correia Castanheira, Durval C. Costa
The most commonly used radionuclides for therapeutic applications are: IODINE-131, ITRIUM-90, LUTETIUM-177 (beta minus emitters) and more recently RADIUM-223 (alpha emitter). Although the main basis for therapeutics has relied upon the availability of the beta minus emitters, there is a growing trend to study the implementation of new radiopharmaceuticals labelled with alpha emitting radionuclides, chemistry and radiopharmacology permitting. Examples of newly proposed alpha emitters are: AMERICIUM-241, ASTATINE-211 and, in particular, BISMUTH-213 obtained from a generator of ACTINIUM-225/BISMUTH-213. The debate continues over the most adequate characteristics for choosing radionuclides (either beta minus or alpha emitters) to use with molecular-targeted therapy. The resulting radiopharmaceutical pharmacokinetics, production costs and targeted cellular functions are some of the most difficult obstacles to overcome during their research and development of new radioligands for therapeutic, as well as for diagnostic applications.
Light, the universe and everything – 12 Herculean tasks for quantum cowboys and black diamond skiers
Published in Journal of Modern Optics, 2018
Girish Agarwal, Roland E. Allen, Iva Bezděková, Robert W. Boyd, Goong Chen, Ronald Hanson, Dean L. Hawthorne, Philip Hemmer, Moochan B. Kim, Olga Kocharovskaya, David M. Lee, Sebastian K. Lidström, Suzy Lidström, Harald Losert, Helmut Maier, John W. Neuberger, Miles J. Padgett, Mark Raizen, Surjeet Rajendran, Ernst Rasel, Wolfgang P. Schleich, Marlan O. Scully, Gavriil Shchedrin, Gennady Shvets, Alexei V. Sokolov, Anatoly Svidzinsky, Ronald L. Walsworth, Rainer Weiss, Frank Wilczek, Alan E. Willner, Eli Yablonovitch, Nikolay Zheludev
There is another feature of atoms which has no parallel with electrons or photons: isotopes of the elements. Here, it is the nuclear properties of the atoms that are important, determined by a different number of neutrons in the nucleus. Most elements in the periodic table have multiple stable isotopes, while radioisotopes are created by nuclear transmutation or fission. Isotopes are a great natural resource, with life-saving applications in healthcare, such as imaging of disease, targeted cancer therapy and diagnosis of malnutrition with stable tracers. Isotopes are also used in industry, for instance, for oil and gas exploration, and for national security in detecting dangerous materials. While there are already great applications in technology, isotopes are still a mostly untapped resource owing to the difficulty and cost of separation. The main method used today, the Calutron, was invented in the 1930s, and is very inefficient and expensive. This method relies on ionization of neutral atoms by electron bombardment, and separation by charge-to-mass ratio [156]. The only large-scale Calutrons in operation today are in Russia, and even these machines were built over 60 years ago. A new method was recently developed that is much more efficient than the Calutron, and will make isotopes readily available for technology. This method, Magnetically Activated and Guided Isotope Separation (MAGIS) relies on optical pumping of atomic beams and separation by magnetic-moment-to-mass ratio in a novel guide of permanent magnets [168]. This is more than just a long-term dream: the method will soon be implemented at a non-profit entity, the Pointsman Foundation, which will produce isotopes for medicine [53]. Within the next five years, production lines should be completed, assuring a worldwide supply of key isotopes. One example is Ytterbium-176, which is the stable precursor of the radioisotope Lutetium-177, a most promising agent in targeted cancer therapy. Beyond existing uses of isotopes, new applications are under development. These include imaging and treatment of heart disease with targeted radioisotopes, and inhibition of biofilms with pure beta emitters to reduce infection. We are on the cusp of an exciting era in which atomic isotopes will drastically improve our lives.