211Rn/211At and 209At production with intense mass separated Fr ion beams for preclinical 211At-based α-therapy research

Abstract

Mass-separated francium beams (²¹¹Fr or ²¹³Fr) were implanted into solid targets for producing ²¹¹Rn (14.6h half-life) or ²⁰⁹At (5.41h), in situ. ²¹¹Rn was transferred to dodecane and isolated from contaminants, providing sources for ²¹¹At (7.21h) production by ²¹¹Rn decay (73%). ²⁰⁹At was recovered with high radionuclidic purity in aqueous solutions, directly. These experiments demonstrated Fr beam implantations as a novel method for producing preclinical quantities of ²¹¹Rn/²¹¹At (for therapy) and ²⁰⁹At (for imaging).

Keywords: At-209; At-211; ISOL-technique, rare isotope beam; astatine-209; astatine-211; francium; generator system; ion implantation; radioisotope production; radon-211; targeted alpha therapy.