Solid target holders design for production of cyclotron-based Tc-99m radionuclide

The amount of Tc-99m radionuclide for nuclear medicine produced by the reactor has recently become a serious problem. Therefore, cyclotron as a proton beam accelerator can be one of the machines for radionuclide production purposes. In Indonesia, production of cyclotron based Tc-99m radionuclide has not been done so that this technology needs to be developed. For this purpose, a solid target system has been designed and is expected to be used in irradiation of enriched molybdenum (Mo-100) in the form of oxide (¹⁰⁰MoO₃) or ¹⁰⁰Mo₂C. Irradiation of the target will be carried out using the eclipse cyclotron in Dharmais Cancer Hospital, in one of the ports at the carousel target. The design consists of a sleeve and puller, hooker, target holder and the lid, as well as the target volume controller. The target holder can be used for a target thickness up to 5 mm. The most significant radioactive residue resulting from the system is expected to be Si-27 which has a half-life of 4.16 seconds only; thus the target system is safe for routine irradiation. The design of the target holder requires no special cooling system for the heat generated from the irradiation process since it is far below the melting point of the materials used. (author)