Introduction

Targeted radiopharmaceuticals production using cyclotrons requires two fundamental conditions: high heat dissipation and high chemical inertness. This technology, conceived for the production of Tc99m but not limited to it, allows the production of a complex target in order to guarantee the above-mentioned requirements, overcoming the limitations of other widespread technologies.

Technical features

Magnetron sputtering technique is used to produce the complex target which allows the deposition of highly uniform and ultra-thick layers of the precursor material for the production of the radionuclide, directly on a substrate (backing plate). The backing plate is made by vacuum brazing a layer of chemically inert dielectric material (in conditions of dissolution of the target) to a metal layer of high thermal conductivity: the first, in order to apply the maximum current that can be delivered by the cyclotron and obtain the maximum production yield, the second in order to ensure that the chemical and radiochemical purity of the final product respects the limits imposed by the Pharmacopoeia. Targets made according to this technique can be used for the production of radionuclides that can be used in the medical field including ^64,67Cu, ⁸⁹Zr, ⁵²Mn, ⁴⁸V, ^62,63Zn and many others.

Possible Applications

• Radiopharmaceutical production for nuclear medicine;
• Realization of ultra-thick film coating for different purposes: protective, decorative or conductive.

Advantages

• High yield of radionuclide production;
• No impurities after dissolution;
• Vacuum brazed complex backing decreases the cost of the target.