Abstract
Is the 67Cu production worldwide feasible for expanding preclinical and clinical studies? How can we face the ingrowing demands of this emerging and promising theranostic radionuclide for personalized therapies? This review looks at the different production routes, including the accelerator- and reactor-based ones, providing a comprehensive overview of the actual 67Cu supply, with brief insight into its use in non-clinical and clinical studies. In addition to the most often explored nuclear reactions, this work focuses on the 67Cu separation and purification techniques, as well as the target material recovery procedures that are mandatory for the economic sustainability of the production cycle. The quality aspects, such as radiochemical, chemical, and radionuclidic purity, with particular attention to the coproduction of the counterpart 64Cu, are also taken into account, with detailed comparisons among the different production routes. Future possibilities related to new infrastructures are included in this work, as well as new developments on the radiopharmaceuticals aspects.
Highlights
Molecules 2022, 27, 1501. https://Copper-67 (67 Cu) (t1/2 = 2.58 d), the longest-living radioisotope of Cu, is of paramount importance because of its simultaneous emissions of β− radiation, useful for therapeutic treatments and γ-rays (93 and 185 keV), suitable for single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) imaging
In order to check that there is no contamination of 67 Ga in the product, we suggest verifying that the same activity of
The reactor route is currently not expected to contribute significantly to the availability of 67 Cu, though reactor produced 67 Cu might be useful as a tracer in research phase on the development of new radiopharmaceuticals or to expand research globally [43]
Summary
Copper-67 (67 Cu) (t1/2 = 2.58 d), the longest-living radioisotope of Cu, is of paramount importance because of its simultaneous emissions of β− radiation (mean β− energy: 141 keV; Eβ− max: 562 keV), useful for therapeutic treatments and γ-rays (93 and 185 keV), suitable for single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) imaging. 67 Cu decay characteristics make it one of the most promising theranostic radionuclides and its long half-life makes it suitable for imaging in vivo slow pharmacokinetics, such as monoclonal antibodies (MoAbs) or large molecules [1]. Radiopharmaceuticals Labelled with New Emerging Radionuclides (67 Cu, 186 Re, 47 Sc)”. Only 64 Cu has been widely used for preclinical and clinical PET studies due to its moderate half-life (t1/2 = 12.7 h), low positron energy, and availability [8].
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