PRODUCTION OF CARBON-11-LABELED COMPOUNDS FOR POSITRON EMISSION TOMOGRAPHY WITH A LOW ENERGY ACCELERATOR

A NEW GENERATION OF ECONOMICAL, COMPACT LOW ENERGY ACCELERATORS HAVE RECENTLY BECOME AVAILABLE FOR THE PRODUCTION OF RADIOISTOTOPES FOR POSITRON EMISSION TOMOGRAPHY (PET). THIS PROJECT ADDRESSES THE NEED FOR A CARBON-11 ((11)C) PRODUCTION TARGET AND RADIOCHEMICAL SYNTHESIS SYSTEM FOR USE WITH THESE NEW ACCELERATORS. (11)C-LABELED BIOLOGICAL MOLECULES ARE USED IN A WIDE VARIETY OF IMPORTANT PET APPLICATIONS, INCLUDING THE STUDY OF RECEPTOR-BASED SYSTEMS IN THE BRAIN AND HEART, OXIDATIVE METABOLISM IN TISSUE, AND GLUCOSE METABOLISM. (11)C TARGETS CURRENTLY USED WITH PET CYCLOTRONS ARE NOT SUITABLE FOR USE AT LOW BOMBARDING ENERGY. IN PHASE I, A NEW TECHNIQUE FOR THE PRODUCTION OF (11)C IN A SOLID TARGET VIA THE (11)B(P,N)(11)C NUCLEAR REACTION WILL BE INVESTIGATED. THE GOAL OF PHASE I WILL BE TO DEVELOP AN AUTOMATED TARGET DESIGN THAT PROVIDES (11)CO2 IN CLINICALLY USEFUL QUANTITIES, WITH HIGH RADIOCHEMICAL PURITY, AND WITH SUFFICIENTLY HIGH SPECIFIC ACTIVITY FOR THE LABELING OF RECEPTOR LIGANDS AS WELL AS ACETATE AND GLUCOSE. IN PHASE II, WE WILL COUPLE THIS TARGET TO AUTOMATED RADIOCHEMISTRY SYSTEMS FOR CONVERSION OF THE EXTRACTED ACTIVITY TO (11)C-RADIOPHARMACEUTICALS COMMONLY USED IN RESEARCH AND CLINICAL PET STUDIES.