Dellepiane, Gaia (2023). Novel Radionuclides for Theranostics at the Bern Medical Cyclotron. (Thesis). Universität Bern, Bern
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2023dellepiane_g.pdf - Thesis Available under License Creative Commons: Attribution (CC-BY 4.0). Download (67MB) | Preview |
Abstract
Theragnostics in nuclear medicine is an emerging field involving the use of a pair of radionuclides to label biomedically relevant molecules for both diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. If the therapeutic radionuclide (alpha, beta minus or Auger emitter) and the diagnostic one (beta plus or gamma emitter) are isotopes of the same element, they exhibit identical kinetics and chemical reactivity and undergo the same metabolic processes. This allows to predict whether a patient will benefit from a therapeutic treatment based on nuclear imaging data, paving the way to the concept of personalized nuclear medicine. The availability of novel radionuclides in quality and quantity suitable for clinical applications is of paramount importance and represents an actual scientific challenge. One of the most promising solutions is their production using biomedical cyclotrons equipped with a solid target station, which constitutes the motivation of this PhD thesis. In the framework of a research program ongoing at the cyclotron laboratory in operation at the Bern University Hospital (Inselspital), the production of some of the most interesting radionuclides for nuclear medicine applications, namely ⁴⁴Sc, ⁴⁷Sc, ⁶¹Cu, ⁶⁴Cu, ⁶⁷Cu, ⁶⁸Ga, ⁹⁹mTc, ¹⁵⁵Tb, ¹⁶⁵Er and ¹⁶⁷Tm, was investigated. These investigations were performed with an 18 MeV biomedical cyclotron equipped with a Solid Target Station (STS) and a 6-m-long Beam Transfer Line (BTL). The cross sections of the reactions producing these radionuclides and their impurities in the energy range of interest were measured, for some of which there were no previous experimental data reported in the literature. Because more than one reaction often participates in radionuclide production, a specific method to disentangle the different nuclear contributions to the production cross section was developed. Based on the results obtained, irradiation parameters maximizing the production yield and the radionuclidic purity were determined. These predictions were confirmed by performing several production tests with the STS. Furthermore, new irradiation and measurement procedures to optimize the radionuclide production were developed. The promising results achieved represent an important step towards the establishment of an efficient and reliable radioisotope supply using medical cyclotrons in view of theragnostic applications in nuclear medicine.
| Item Type: | Thesis |
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| Dissertation Type: | Single |
| Date of Defense: | 20 March 2023 |
| Subjects: | 500 Science > 530 Physics |
| Institute / Center: | 08 Faculty of Science > Physics Institute > Laboratory for High Energy Physics (LHEP) |
| Depositing User: | Sarah Stalder |
| Date Deposited: | 30 Jun 2023 14:56 |
| Last Modified: | 20 Mar 2024 23:25 |
| URI: | https://boristheses.unibe.ch/id/eprint/4394 |
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