Production of therapeutic quantities of 64Cu using a 12 MeV cyclotron

Cu-64 is a useful radiotracer for positron emission tomography (PET) and a promising radiotherapy agent for the treatment of cancer. Recently, Cu-64-labeled radiopharmaceuticals were reported to be useful for internal radiation therapy as well as PET monitoring of tumors. Cu-64 was produced at the Fukui Medical University's cyclotron using twelve MeV proton irradiation and the Ni-64(p,n) Cu-64 nuclear reaction. A Ni-64 target was electroplated on a gold disk at a thickness of 50 to >100 mum. Electroplating was performed at 2.5 V, at currents between 5-15 mA, and was completed in 12-24 hr. The Ni-64 target was bombarded with a 50+/-3 muA proton current. After bombardment, Cu-64 was separated from the Ni-64 target and other contaminants using an anion exchange column. Target Ni-64 was recovered and re-used. The yield of Cu-64 was 0.6 to >3.0 mCi/muA*h, and averaged 1.983 mCi/muA*h. The radionuclidic purity of Cu-64 was over 99%. In this study, we obtained sufficient qualities and quantities of Cu-64 for therapeutic application and dose monitoring using PET using an ultra-small cyclotron. (C) 2003 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.