(11)CH4 molecule production using a NaBH4 target for (11)C ion acceleration

Area of Science:

• Nuclear Chemistry
• Materials Science
• Radiopharmaceutical Production

Background:

• Heavy-ion cancer therapy requires high-purity radioactive isotopes.
• Producing carbon-11 (¹¹C) labeled molecules, such as methane-11 (¹¹CH₄), is crucial for Positron Emission Tomography (PET) imaging in oncology.
• Developing efficient and reliable methods for synthesizing ¹¹CH₄ is an ongoing challenge.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate solid-state materials as proton irradiation targets for producing high-purity ¹¹CH₄.
• To identify optimal target materials and irradiation conditions for maximizing ¹¹CH₄ yield.
• To analyze the radioactive molecular species produced for quality control.

Main Methods:

• Proton irradiation of various solid-state target materials.
• Measurement of radioactivity in the gas produced post-irradiation.
• Radio gas chromatography for analyzing radioactive molecular species.
• Quantitative analysis of collected ¹¹C molecules.

Main Results:

• Sodium borohydride (NaBH₄) was identified as a highly effective target material.
• Proton irradiation of NaBH₄ yielded approximately 5 × 10¹² ¹¹C atoms.
• High-purity ¹¹CH₄ molecules were directly produced and collected from the irradiated NaBH₄ target.
• The hydrogen atoms within the solid-state NaBH₄ facilitated the direct formation of ¹¹CH₄.

Conclusions:

• Solid-state NaBH₄ is a promising target material for the efficient production of ¹¹CH₄.
• This method offers a direct route for synthesizing ¹¹CH₄, simplifying the radiopharmaceutical production process.
• The findings support the use of this technique for supplying ¹¹CH₄ for heavy-ion cancer therapy and PET imaging.