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A Simple Target for the Production of Aqueous [¹⁸F] Fluoride Ion Using [¹⁸O] Oxygen Gas--PETNet Pharmaceutical Services, Inc., 810 Innovation Drive, Knoxville, TN  37932; 423-218-2542

Dr. Henry C. Padgett, Principal Investigator

Mr. Hank Chilton, Business Official

DOE Grant No. DE-FG02-00ER83066

Amount:  $100,000

 

Positron emission tomography (PET) is a non-invasive functional imaging technique that measures biochemical/physiological parameters using radiopharmaceuticals labeled with positron-emitting radioisotopes within the human body.  The development of a reliable, high yield, and economical method for the cyclotron-produced radioisotope fluorine-18 in the form of [¹⁸F]fluoride ion would be beneficial for the growth and increased utilization of PET.  This proposed research will develop a practical and reliable method for the use of gaseous [¹⁸O]oxygen gas as the target material for aqueous [¹⁸F]fluoride ion production.  This target offers two important advantages over the current liquid target method: (i) gas targets are able to withstand relatively higher beam currents than liquid targets giving higher yields, and (ii) the expensive enriched oxygen-18 gas target material can be more efficiently recovered after the bombardment and recycled for subsequent runs.  The primary technical objective of the Phase I effort will be to design, construct, and test a prototype [¹⁸O]oxygen gas target with a target support unit (TSU) for the production of aqueous [¹⁸F]fluoride ion.  The TSU will allow the cryogenic recovery and recycling of the enriched [¹⁸O]oxygen gas.  The design goal will be to solve the problem of combining elements of both a high-pressure gas target for the bombardment and a liquid target for the product delivery.

 

Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by the awardee:  New commercial suppliers and distributors of PET radiopharmaceuticals are being announced regularly as are new medical imaging devices that require these positron-emitter labeled radiotracers.  This will result in an ever-growing demand for radiotracers that are prepared using aqueous [¹⁸F]fluoride ion.  The successful development of our proposed target will result in this reliable, high-yield and economical method becoming the new standard method for the production of fluorine-18 radiopharmaceuticals for PET in clinical and research studies.