Efficient preparation of high-quality ⁶⁴Cu for routine use

Area of Science:

• Nuclear Chemistry
• Radiopharmaceutical Science
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Copper-64 (64Cu) is a crucial radionuclide for positron emission tomography (PET) and emerging radiotherapeutics.
• Increasing demand for high-purity 64Cu necessitates advanced separation techniques for its use in targeted therapies with antibodies and peptides.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a novel, automated separation method for producing high-quality 64Cu.
• To achieve large-scale production of 64Cu with significantly reduced metallic impurities.

Main Methods:

• 64Cu was produced via the 64Ni(p,n) reaction using a 24 MeV proton beam.
• Separation was performed using a cation-exchange resin (AG50W-X8) with a solvent mixture of HCl and acetone.
• Product purity was assessed using ion-chromatography and inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy.

Main Results:

• The method yielded 5.2-13 GBq of 64Cu within 2.5 hours, achieving a production rate of 521±12 MBq/eμAh.
• Metallic impurities were reduced to parts-per-billion (ppb) levels.
• Cobalt and Nickel contaminants were significantly lower compared to anion-exchange resin methods.

Conclusions:

• A systematic cation-exchange separation method effectively minimizes contamination in 64Cu production.
• The developed method is straightforward, reduces processing time, and yields high-quality 64Cu suitable for routine clinical use.