Four researchers from the PRISMA team in collaboration with GIP ARRONAX have just published the results of their research on the production of 67Cu from 70Zn in the journal Frontiers in Medicine, section Nuclear Medicine.
Access to the full article : https://doi.org/10.3389/fmed.2021.674617
67Cu is a radionuclide with interesting physical properties for therapeutic applications. It is a beta-emitter with a maximum energy of between 350 and 600 keV, which corresponds to an electron path of about 3 mm in water. This energy range, comparable to that of 177Lu currently used in internal vectorised radiotherapy, is not very high and allows localised treatment and limits the dose received by surrounding healthy tissue. 67Cu has a half-life of 61.8 h which is suitable for therapeutic use. SPECT imaging detectors work best with gamma photons in the 100-400 keV energy range. 67Cu emits gamma photons, particularly the most intense at 184.6 keV, in this energy range without emitting higher energy gammas that would degrade image resolution. It therefore offers the possibility of performing SPECT imaging in parallel with the therapy, which allows monitoring of the diffusion and distribution of 67Cu.