An improved 62Zn/62Cu generator based on a cation exchanger and its fully remote-controlled preparation for clinical use.
OBJECTIVE
The goal of this study was to develop an improved (62)Zn/(62)Cu generator based on cation exchange resin and remote preparation at high radioactivity scale for clinical use.


METHODS
A natural Cu target was irradiated with proton beam in the energy range of 30-->19 MeV at a beam current of 10 muA for 1 h to obtain around 1.7 GBq of (62)Zn. The (62)Zn was isolated from the Cu target on an anion exchange column with more than 97% yield within 2.5 h from the EOB. The (62)Zn/(62)Cu generator was prepared by loading the (62)Zn(2+) on a Sep-Pak plus CM cartridge.


RESULTS
The generator showed high elution efficiency ( approximately 96%) using a small volume (ca. 3 ml) of a 200-mM glycine solution with a very low breakthrough of (62)Zn (<0.1%).


CONCLUSIONS
This (62)Zn/(62)Cu generator has been proven to be highly useful as a source of (62)Cu for the synthesis of (62)Cu-labeled compounds. The clinical application of [(62)Cu]Cu-ATSM produced with this generator has been already approved by the Institutional Review Board at the National Institute of Radiological Sciences.
Fukumura
Toshimitsu
T
Department of Medical Imaging, Radiopharmaceutical Chemistry Section, National Institute of Radiological Sciences, Chiba 263-8555, Japan. t_fukumu@nirs.go.jp
Okada
Kazuhiro
K
Suzuki
Hisashi
H
Nakao
Ryuji
R
Mukai
Kensaku
K
Szelecsényi
Ferenc
F
Kovács
Zoltán
Z
Suzuki
Kazutoshi
K
D002411:Cation Exchange Resins; D003301:Copper Radioisotopes; D006801:Humans; D009942:Organometallic Compounds; D011786:Quality Control; D011876:Radionuclide Generators / Q000592:standards; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D013882:Thiosemicarbazones; D014055:Tomography, Emission-Computed; D015037:Zinc Radioisotopes
D002411:Cation Exchange Resins; D003301:Copper Radioisotopes; D009942:Organometallic Compounds; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D013882:Thiosemicarbazones; D015037:Zinc Radioisotopes; C052629:copper pyruvaldehyde bis(N(4)-methylthiosemicarbazone) complex