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Updated: Oct 10, 2026

Preparing an Isotopically Pure 229Th Ion Beam for Studies of 229mTh
Published on: May 3, 2019
Production of terbium-152 by heavy ion reactions and proton induced spallation
Abstract:
Terbium-152 (Tb-152) is of potential value as a radiotracer for radiolanthanides in positron emission tomography. We report the production of Tb-152 by heavy ion reactions at the ANU Tandem accelerator, and by the spallation method at the CERN proton accelerator using the on-line ISOLDE separator, obtaining microcurie and millicurie yields, respectively. After purification, a phantom image in PET is obtained which shows the feasibility of using Tb-152 for monitoring the kinetics of Tb-149 and other radiolanthanides. However, the current availability of this radioisotope will be restricted to major nuclear physics research centres.
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