Medical Imaging
Systems and Methods for the Cyclotron Production of Iodine-124
WARF: P04326US
Inventors: Jonathon Nye, Robert Nickles
The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) is seeking commercial partners interested in developing an improved method for the cyclotron production of I-124.
Overview
Position emission tomography (PET) plays a vital role in the diagnosis of health and disease. The long-lived isotope iodine-124 (I-124; half-life 4.2 days) has many features that make it an attractive imaging agent for PET; however, commercial biomedical cyclotrons have not been able to produce large quantities of I-124.
The Invention
UW-Madison researchers have developed an improved method for the cyclotron production of I-124 using an aluminum telluride (Al2Te3) target. The method involves producing I-124 from an isotopically enriched aluminum telluride target via the 124Te(p,n) or 124Te(d,2n) reaction. The I-124 formed during irradiation is sublimated from the target stock by dry distillation in a resistive furnace and then swept in a gas stream to a chilled quartz trap downstream. It may be delivered as a solid film on a quartz tube or extracted by scrubbing with a mild base for radio labeling.
Applications
- Production of I-124 for PET
Key Benefits
- Enables the production of I-124 in commercially useful quantities
- Improves trapping of I-124
- Allows I-124 to be used in PET scans of molecular compounds that accumulate slowly in target cells in the human body
Additional Information
Related Intellectual Property
For current licensing status, please contact Jeanine Burmania at [javascript protected email address] or 608-960-9846