155Tb production by cyclotrons: what level of 155Gd enrichment allows clinical applications?

Background: ¹⁵⁵Tb represents a potentially useful radionuclide for diagnostic medical applications, but its production remains a challenging problem, in spite of the fact that many production routes have been already investigated and tested. A recent experimental campaign, conducted with low-energy proton beams impinging on a ¹⁵⁵Gd target with 91.9% enrichment, demonstrated a significant co-production of ^156gTb, a contaminant of great concern since its half-life is comparable to that of ¹⁵⁵Tb and its high-energy γ emissions severely impact on the dose released and on the quality of the SPECT images. In the present investigation, the isotopic purity of the enriched ¹⁵⁵Gd target necessary to minimize the co-production of contaminant radioisotopes, in particular ^156gTb, was explored using various computational simulations.

Results: Starting from the recent experimental data obtained with a 91.9% ¹⁵⁵Gd-enriched target, the co-production of other Tb radioisotopes besides ¹⁵⁵Tb has been theoretically evaluated using the Talys code. It was found that ¹⁵⁶Gd, with an isotopic content of 5.87%, was the principal contributor to the co-production of ^156gTb. The analysis also demonstrated that the maximum amount of ¹⁵⁶Gd admissible for ¹⁵⁵Tb production with a radionuclidic purity higher than 99% was 1%. A less stringent condition was obtained through computational dosimetry analysis, suggesting that a 2% content of ¹⁵⁶Gd in the target can be tolerated to limit the dose increase to the patient below the 10% limit. Moreover, it has been demonstrated that the imaging properties of the produced ¹⁵⁵Tb are not severely affected by this level of impurity in the target.

Conclusions: ¹⁵⁵Tb can be produced with a quality suitable for medical applications using low-energy proton beams and ¹⁵⁵Gd-enriched targets, if the ¹⁵⁶Gd impurity content does not exceed 2%. Under these conditions, the dose increase due to the presence of contaminant radioisotopes remains below the 10% limit and good quality images, comparable to those of ¹¹¹In, are guaranteed.