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ePaper created 2012-09-28, 09:46:25 | version 1.24.0
Research in Jülich 2|201214 The large-scale device for medical research delivered to the Jülich campus in early May weighs in at 35 tonnes. A heavy-duty crane lifted the new compact cyclotron into its home, an underground concrete bunker. This is where, starting in summer 2013, it will produce radionuclides for the synthesis of radiopharmaceuticals that can be used to track down tumours, monitor metabolic processes and investigate the mechanisms of medical drugs. T he device developed in Belgium by IBA is the first of a new series ca- pable of accelerating three differ- ent particles. Apart from protons* and deuterons* for the routine production of pharmaceuticals, it is also possible to generate alpha particles* with an energy of up to 30 mega-electron volts. “The new cyclotron, on the one hand, enables us to maintain a reliable supply of short- lived radiopharmaceuticals for patients and, on the other hand, to undertake ground-breaking research and teaching in nuclear chemistry here at Jülich,” ex- plains Prof. Heinz H. Coenen, director of the Institute of Neuroscience and Medi- cine – Nuclear Chemistry (INM-5). And particularly the research promises to be exciting. If, for example, high- energy alpha particles hit chlorine atoms then potassium-38 is formed, which medical scientists use for detailed inves- tigations of myocardial blood flow. Other radionuclides, such as samarium-153 for ucts.” As in the case of the extremely successful [18 F] fluorodeoxyglucose, the tracer most frequently used for tumour diagnosis with PET, after successful in- troduction in clinical practice, research- ers at Jülich leave the later mass produc- tion to industry. Their efforts are better employed in developing new tracers. For example, selenium-73 as a new PET tracer. Its longer half-life of about seven hours means that slower metabolic processes can be investigated, for example the creation and degradation of proteins in the body. Or new radionuclides for appli- Precision job: The heavy-duty crane positions the cy- clotron weighing 35 tonnes in its final destination. The roof of the bunker was later sealed. tracking down bone metastasis and as- tatine-211 for the irradiation of malig- nant tumours, can be very effectively produced with alpha radiation. Further- more, research has recently started to focus on “partner isotopes”. These iso- topes enable the production of bimodal tracers. Such tracers can be identified by both positron emission tomographs (PETs) and also magnetic resonance im- aging (MRI) scanners. “We are thus able to make a decisive contribution to the further development of Jülich’s hybrid imaging, a combination of PET and MRI,” adds Coenen. SIMPLER AND BETTER And this is precisely the strength of Jülich researchers. Their expertise cov- ers the entire range from understanding the individual nuclear reactions up to the production of radiopharmaceuticals for routine use. Coenen emphasizes: “One of our declared priorities is the investiga- tion and development of new radio- nuclides. Such radionuclides are either more suitable for a specific purpose or they can be produced more easily by a new nuclear reaction – that is to say at less expense or with fewer side prod- Cyclotron for Medi- cine and Research