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A comparison of PET imaging characteristics of various copper radioisotopes

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European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

PET radiotracers which incorporate longer-lived radionuclides enable biological processes to be studied over many hours, at centres remote from a cyclotron. This paper examines the radioisotope characteristics, imaging performance, radiation dosimetry and production modes of the four copper radioisotopes, 60Cu, 61Cu, 62Cu and 64Cu, to assess their merits for different PET imaging applications.

Methods

Spatial resolution, sensitivity, scatter fraction and noise-equivalent count rate (NEC) are predicted for 60Cu, 61Cu, 62Cu and 64Cu using a model incorporating radionuclide decay properties and scanner parameters for the GE Advance scanner. Dosimetry for 60Cu, 61Cu and 64Cu is performed using the MIRD model and published biodistribution data for copper(II) pyruvaldehyde bis(N4-methyl)thiosemicarbazone (Cu-PTSM).

Results

60Cu and 62Cu are characterised by shorter half-lives and higher sensitivity and NEC, making them more suitable for studying the faster kinetics of small molecules, such as Cu-PTSM. 61Cu and 64Cu have longer half-lives, enabling studies of the slower kinetics of cells and peptides and prolonged imaging to compensate for lower sensitivity, together with better spatial resolution, which partially compensates for loss of image contrast. 61Cu-PTSM and 64Cu-PTSM are associated with radiation doses similar to [18F]-fluorodeoxyglucose, whilst the doses for 60Cu-PTSM and 62Cu-PTSM are lower and more comparable with H215O.

Conclusion

The physical and radiochemical characteristics of the four copper isotopes make each more suited to some imaging tasks than others. The results presented here assist in selecting the preferred radioisotope for a given imaging application, and illustrate a strategy which can be extended to the majority of novel PET tracers.

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank Michael Stabin of Vanderbilt University (Nashville, USA) for 60Cu, 61Cu and 64Cu S-factors, and Jeff Lacy of Proportional Technologies Inc. (Houston, USA) for clarifying the organ residence times for 62Cu-PTSM.

The work detailed in this paper was carried out in compliance with current UK law.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Christie Hospital NHS Trust, North Western Medical Physics, Wilmslow Road, Manchester, M20 4BX, United Kingdom

    Heather Ann Williams, Simon Robinson, Peter Julyan & David Hastings

  2. Department of Instrumentation and Analytical Science, University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology, Manchester, United Kingdom

    Heather Ann Williams & Jamal Zweit

  3. Radiochemical Targeting and Imaging, Paterson Institute for Cancer Research, Manchester, United Kingdom

    Jamal Zweit

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  1. Heather Ann Williams
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Correspondence to Heather Ann Williams.

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Williams, H.A., Robinson, S., Julyan, P. et al. A comparison of PET imaging characteristics of various copper radioisotopes. Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging 32, 1473–1480 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00259-005-1906-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00259-005-1906-9

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