67Cu Production Capabilities: A Mini Review.

Is the 67Cu production worldwide feasible for expanding preclinical and clinical studies? How can we face the ingrowing demands of this emerging and promising theranostic radionuclide for personalized therapies? This review looks at the different production routes, including the accelerator- and reactor-based ones, providing a comprehensive overview of the actual 67Cu supply, with brief insight into its use in non-clinical and clinical studies. In addition to the most often explored nuclear reactions, this work focuses on the 67Cu separation and purification techniques, as well as the target material recovery procedures that are mandatory for the economic sustainability of the production cycle. The quality aspects, such as radiochemical, chemical, and radionuclidic purity, with particular attention to the coproduction of the counterpart 64Cu, are also taken into account, with detailed comparisons among the different production routes. Future possibilities related to new infrastructures are included in this work, as well as new developments on the radiopharmaceuticals aspects.

Theragnostic Radionuclide Pairs for Prostate Cancer Management: 64Cu/67Cu, Can Be a Budding Hot Duo.

Prostate cancer (PCa) is one of the preeminent causes of mortality in men worldwide. Theragnostic, a combination of therapy and diagnostic, using radionuclide pairs to diagnose and treat disease, has been shown to be a promising approach for combating PCa. In PCa patients, bone is one of the most common sites of metastases, and about 90% of patients develop bone metastases. This review focuses on (i) clinically translated theragnostic radionuclide pairs for the management of PCa, (ii) radionuclide therapy of bone metastases in PCa, and (iii) a special emphasis on emerging theragnostic radionuclide pair, Copper-64/Copper-67 (64Cu/67Cu) for managing the disease.

Production of Copper Radionuclides in Compact Medical Cyclotrons using Solid Targets.

Over the last several years there has been a growing interest in the use of radiopharmaceuticals labeled with metallic radionuclides, especially isotopes of copper (Cu). Cu has a unique set of radionuclides with a potential application not only for diagnostic imaging but also for applications in targeted radionuclide therapy. To review the methods and routes used for the production of Cu radionuclides in compact medical cyclotrons (Ep<20 MeV) using solid targets. The cyclotron production of Cu radionuclides using solid targets has proven to be very efficient. The large number of compact medical cyclotrons distributed worldwide, and the high target yields in the production of Cu radionuclides achieved at these energies, form a potential network of distribution to satisfy the growing demand for these radionuclides, especially 64Cu.