Radiopharmaceutical Quality Control Considerations for Accelerator-Produced Actinium Therapies

BACKGROUND: Alpha-particle-emitting radiotherapies are of great interest for the treatment of disseminated cancer. Actinium-225 ((225)Ac) produces four α-particles through its decay and is among the most attractive radionuclides for use in targeted radiotherapy applications. However, supply issues for this isotope have limited availability and increased cost for research and translation. Efforts have focused on accelerator-based methods that produce (225)Ac in addition to long-lived (227)Ac. OBJECTIVE: The authors investigated the impact of (225)Ac/(227)Ac material in the radiolabeling and radiopharmaceutical quality control evaluation of a DOTA chelate-conjugated peptide under good manufacturing practices. The authors use an automated module under identical conditions with either generator or accelerator-produced actinium radiolabeling. METHODS: The authors have performed characterization of the radiolabeled products, including thin-layer chromatography, high-pressure liquid chromatography, gamma counting, and high-energy resolution gamma spectroscopy. RESULTS: Peptide was radiolabeled and assessed at >95% radiochemical purity with high yields for generator produced (225)Ac. The radiolabeling results produced material with subtle but detectable differences when using (225)Ac/(227)Ac. Gamma spectroscopy was able to identify peptide initially labeled with (227)Th, and at 100 d for quantification of (225)Ac-bearing peptide. CONCLUSION: Peptides produced using (225)Ac/(227)Ac material may be suitable for translation, but raise new issues that include processing times, logistics, and contaminant detection.