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

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).

Nuclear Data Evaluation for Mass Chain A=217:Odd-Proton Nuclei.

Thallium (81(217)Tl, Bismuth (83(217)Bi), Astatine (85(217)At), Francium (87(217)Fr), Actinium (89(217)Ac) and Protactinium (91(217)Pa) are of odd-proton numbers among the mass chain A = 217. In the present work, the half-lives and gamma transitions for the six nuclei have been studied and adopted based on the recently published interactions or unevaluated nuclear data sets XUNDL. The Q (α) has been updated based on the recent published work of the Atomic Mass Evaluation AME2012 as well. Moreover, the total conversion electrons as well as the K-Shell to L-Shell, L-Shell to M-Shell and L-Shell to N-Shell Conversion Electron Ratios have been calculated using BrIcc code v2.3. An updated skeleton decay scheme for each of the above nuclei has been presented here. The decay hindrance factors (HF) calculated using the ALPHAD program, which is available from Brookhaven National Laboratory's website, have been calculated for the α- decay data sets for (221)Fr-, (221)Ac- and (221)Pa-α-decays.

Retention studies of recoiling daughter nuclides of 225Ac in polymer vesicles.

Alpha radionuclide therapy is steadily gaining importance and a large number of pre-clinical and clinical studies have been carried out. However, due to the recoil effects the daughter recoil atoms, most of which are alpha emitters as well, receive energies that are much higher than the energies of chemical bonds resulting in decoupling of the radionuclide from common targeting agents. Here, we demonstrate that polymer vesicles (i.e. polymersomes) can retain recoiling daughter nuclei based on an experimental study examining the retention of (221)Fr and (213)Bi when encapsulating (225)Ac.

Ab initio studies of atomic properties and experimental behavior of element 119 and its lighter homologs.

Static dipole polarizabilities of element 119 and its singly charged cation are calculated, along with those of its lighter homologs, Cs and Fr. Relativity is treated within the 4-component Dirac-Coulomb formalism and electron correlation is included by the single reference coupled cluster approach with single, double, and perturbative triple excitations (CCSD(T)). Very good agreement with available experimental values is obtained for Cs, lending credence to the predictions for Fr and element 119. The atomic properties in group-1 are largely determined by the valence ns orbital, which experiences relativistic stabilization and contraction in the heavier elements. As a result, element 119 is predicted to have a relatively low polarizability (169.7 a.u.), comparable to that of Na. The adsorption enthalpy of element 119 on Teflon, which is important for possible future experimental studies of this element, is estimated as 17.6 kJ/mol, the lowest among the atoms considered here.

Efforts to control the errant products of a targeted in vivo generator.

Alpha-particle immunotherapy by targeted alpha-emitters or alpha-emitting isotope generators is a novel form of extraordinarily potent cancer therapy. A major impediment to the clinical use of targeted actinium-225 (225Ac) in vivo generators may be the radiotoxicity of the systemically released daughter radionuclides. The daughters, especially bismuth-213 (213Bi), tend to accumulate in the kidneys. We tested the efficacy of various pharmacologic agents and the effect of tumor burden in altering the pharmacokinetics of the 225Ac daughters to modify their renal uptake. Pharmacologic treatments in animals were started before i.v. administration of the HuM195-225Ac generator. 225Ac, francium-221 (221Fr), and 213Bi biodistributions were calculated in each animal at different time points after 225Ac generator injection. Oral metal chelation with 2,3-dimercapto-1-propanesulfonic acid (DMPS) or meso-2,3-dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) caused a significant reduction (P < 0.0001) in the renal 213Bi uptake; however, DMPS was more effective than DMSA (P < 0.001). The results with DMPS were also confirmed in a monkey model. The renal 213Bi and 221Fr activities were significantly reduced by furosemide and chlorothiazide treatment (P < 0.0001). The effect on renal 213Bi activity was further enhanced by the combination of DMPS with either chlorothiazide or furosemide (P < 0.0001). Competitive antagonism by bismuth subnitrate moderately reduced the renal uptake of 213Bi. The presence of a higher target-tumor burden significantly prevented the renal 213Bi accumulation (P = 0.003), which was further reduced by DMPS treatment (P < 0.0001). Metal chelation, diuresis with furosemide or chlorothiazide, and competitive metal blockade may be used as adjuvant therapies to modify the renal accumulation of 225Ac daughters.

Ground electronic states of RbO2+, CsO2+ and FrO2: the ionization energies of RbO2 and CsO2.

Calculations are performed to establish the ground electronic states of RbO2+, CsO2+, and FrO2. In the case of the cations, both linear and C2v orientations were considered; for FrO2, the two lowest electronic states, 2A2 and 2B2, were considered in C2v symmetry. In addition, calculations were also performed on the x2 A2 ground states of RbO2 and CsO2 to derive ionization energies. Binding energies and heats of formation are also derived. The bonding in FrO2 is found to be less ionic than that of RbO2 and CsO2.

Breakthrough of 225Ac and its radionuclide daughters from an 225Ac/213Bi generator: development of new methods, quantitative characterization, and implications for clinical use.

Bisumth-213, a short-lived alpha particle emitting radionuclide, is generated from the decay of 225Ac, which has a half-life of 10 days. The development of a clinical 225Ac/213Bi generator and the preparation of a 213Bi radiolabeled antibody for radioimmunotherapy of leukemia have been reported. The 225Ac decay scheme is complex; therefore a thorough understanding of the impact of both the parent 225Ac and its daughters on radiolabeling, purification, and quantification is necessary for optimal use of the generator system. This paper reports: (i) unique new methods to measure 221Fr, 213Bi, and 209Pb, the prominent daughters of 225Ac; and (ii) a quantitative evaluation of 225Ac/213Bi generator breakthrough and the radionuclidic purity of 213Bi labeled radiopharmaceutical dose formulations. A quantitative multi-dimensional proportional scanning method was employed to distinguish and measure specific daughter radionuclides. This method combines thin layer chromatography in two perpendicular directions with attenuated collimation as a function of time for data collection and analysis. Francium-221 and 213Bi eluted differentially from the generator, and 221Fr contributed minimally to unchelated 213Bi in the reaction and final products. Lead-209 was present in the reaction solution, but not strongly bound by the chelating moiety either (i) under the 213Bi labeling reaction conditions or (ii) following chelated 213Bi decay. As a consequence of incorporating several new procedures to the operation of the generator, 225Ac breakthrough in the final product was further reduced and represented a trivial contaminant in the final drug formulations.

Static multipole polarisabilities and second-order Stark shift in francium.

The multipole polarisability of the ground state of francium is calculated by utilising both the variational technique of Davison and the quantum defect theory underlying the Bates-Damgaard method. This approach is also shown to yield reasonable results for other alkali atoms. Second-order Stark shift for the ground state of francium is presented as a function of field strength for possible future experimental comparison.

Neuropsychiatric manifestations of alkali metal deficiency and excess.

The alkali metals from the Group IA of the periodic table (lithium, sodium, potassium, rubidium, cesium and francium) are reviewed. The neuropsychiatric aspects of alkali metal deficiencies and excesses (intoxications) are described. Emphasis was placed on lithium due to its clinical uses. The signs and symptoms of these conditions are characterized by features of an organic brain syndrome with delirium and encephalopathy prevailing. There are no clinically distinctive features that could be reliably used for diagnoses. Sodium and potassium are two essential alkali metals in man. Lithium is used as therapeutic agent in bipolar affective disorders. Rubidium has been investigated for its antidepressant effect in a group of psychiatric disorders. Cesium is under laboratory investigation for its role in carcinogenesis and in depressive illness. Very little is known of francium due to its great instability for experimental study.