Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 19, 2026
Fabrication of Mechanically Tunable and Bioactive Metal Scaffolds for Biomedical Applications
Published on: December 8, 2015
Production, processing and small animal PET imaging of titanium-45
Amy L Vāvere1, Richard Laforest, Michael J Welch
1Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA.
Introduction:
Titanium-45 was prepared as a tool for elucidation of the mechanism of action of titanium anticancer drugs in vivo using microPET imaging.
Methods:
Titanium-45 was produced by the 45Sc(p,n)45Ti nuclear reaction using 14.5 MeV protons. Sufficient yields of 45Ti were produced and separated from the target material with 99.8% radionuclidic purity using a simple, efficient separation procedure.
Results:
A typical bombardment of 5 microA for 1 h produced an average of 2105+/-150 MBq (56.9+/-4.0 mCi) at the end of bombardment (EOB), well within acceptable range of the calculated theoretical yields of 2165 MBq and 433 MBq microA-1 h-1 (58.5 mCi and 11.7 mCi microA-1 h-1). This amount of activity is sufficient for the radiosynthesis of target compounds as well as imaging studies. MicroPET images of a miniature Derenzo phantom show excellent resolution where rods of 1.25 mm were separated by four times their diameter.
Conclusions:
Titanium-45 can be easily produced on a biomedical cyclotron with excellent yields as compared to calculated theoretical values with imaging studies demonstrating that the decay properties of titanium-45 are well suited for microPET.
