Production of no carrier added 80mBr for investigation of Auger electron toxicity

80Br (half-life=4.43 h) is an Auger electron emitting nuclide with convenient properties for investigating Auger electron cytotoxicity and with potential for labeling in vivo radiotherapeutic agents. We have investigated three cyclotron target systems capable of generating 80Br of sufficiently high specific radioactivity (no carrier added) for biomedical experiments. A 83Kr gas target irradiated with 21.5 MeV deuterons made 80Br at a production yield of 1.6±0.2 mCi/μAh at saturation. A five-fold increase in 80Br yield was obtained from 15 MeV proton irradiation of thin elemental Se enriched in 80Se targets although technical improvements are expected to further raise this production yield. This route is therefore superior for current medical cyclotrons. Irradiation of a reusable 80Se copper selenide target also yielded multi-millicurie amounts of 80mBr, and recovery of radiobromide by dry distillation is faster and more convenient than in the elemental Se target, but an optimum copper selenide target for 80mBr production has not yet been built. (author)