Cyclotron production and radiochemical purification of terbium-155 for SPECT imaging

BACKGROUND: Terbium-155 [T(1/2) = 5.32 d, Eγ = 87 keV (32%) 105 keV (25%)] is an interesting radionuclide suitable for single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) imaging with potential application in the diagnosis of oncological disease. It shows similar decay characteristics to the clinically established indium-111 and would be a useful substitute for the diagnosis and prospective dosimetry with biomolecules that are afterwards labeled with therapeutic radiolanthanides and pseudo-radiolanthanides, such as lutetium-177 and yttrium-90. Moreover, terbium-155 could form part of the perfect “matched pair” with the therapeutic radionuclide terbium-161, making the concept of true radiotheragnostics a reality. The aim of this study was the investigation of the production of terbium-155 via the (155)Gd(p,n)(155)Tb and (156)Gd(p,2n)(155)Tb nuclear reactions and its subsequent purification, in order to obtain a final product in quantity and quality sufficient for preclinical application. The (156)Gd(p,2n)(155)Tb nuclear reaction was performed with 72 MeV protons (degraded to ~ 23 MeV), while the (155)Gd(p,n)(155)Tb reaction was degraded further to ~ 10 MeV, as well as performed at an 18 MeV medical cyclotron, to demonstrate its feasibility of production. RESULT: The (156)Gd(p,2n)(155)Tb nuclear reaction demonstrated higher production yields of up to 1.7 GBq, however, lower radionuclidic purity when compared to the final product (~ 200 MBq) of the (155)Gd(p,n)(155)Tb nuclear reaction. In particular, other radioisotopes of terbium were produced as side products. The radiochemical purification of terbium-155 from the target material was developed to provide up to 1.0 GBq product in a small volume (~ 1 mL 0.05 M HCl), suitable for radiolabeling purposes. The high chemical purity of terbium-155 was proven by radiolabeling experiments at molar activities up to 100 MBq/nmol. SPECT/CT experiments were performed in tumor-bearing mice using [(155)Tb]Tb-DOTATOC. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated two possible production routes for high activities of terbium-155 using a cyclotron, indicating that the radionuclide is more accessible than the exclusive mass-separated method previously demonstrated. The developed radiochemical purification of terbium-155 from the target material yielded [(155)Tb]TbCl(3) in high chemical purity. As a result, initial cell uptake investigations, as well as SPECT/CT in vivo studies with [(155)Tb]Tb-DOTATOC, were successfully performed, indicating that the chemical separation produced a product with suitable quality for preclinical studies. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s41181-021-00153-w.