Radioisotope production

The trial production runs started in the previous report period were continued and have been extended to 67Ga, 81Rb/81mKr and 111In, the production of which will be taken over from the Pretoria cyclotron at the end of this year, when that machine is scheduled to be shut down. After commissioning of the target water cooling system and the helium cooling system for beam foil windows at the beginning of this year, these production runs could also be extended to high beam currents (up to 50 μA). Test consignments of a number of products have been supplied to various potential future users, and 123I, in the form of Na123I capsules as well as 123I-sodium hippurate, and 52Fe-citrate have actually been used with success in trial diagnostic studies on patients. A procedure for labelling IPPA and 3-IPMPA with 123I has been developed, while initial work has also been done on the radioiodination of monoclonal antifibrine antibodies. The last major facility needed for the commencement of the routine radioisotope production programme, namely the multiple-target facility, is now ready for installation in the production vault within the next few weeks, and routine production runs are expected to start in November 1988. 4 figs., 18 refs