Production of Lutetium-177 at McMaster Nuclear Reactor

Abstract

Lutetium-177 (t½ = 6.7 d E_βmax = 0.5 MeV, E_γ = 113 keV, 208 keV) is an increasingly important isotope for the treatment of cancer. For the past 5 years, McMaster Nuclear Reactor has been producing this radioisotope via the ¹⁷⁶Lu(n,γ)¹⁷⁷Lu reaction to support researchers in Southern Ontario. A recent shift in clinical practice has resulted in increased demand for lutetium-177 that is produced indirectly, via the ¹⁷⁶Yb(n,γ)¹⁷⁷Yb→¹⁷⁷Lu nuclear transformation. Unfortunately, this process is considerably more complex than the established production methodology. In consequence, a collaboration between research staff at McMaster University and the Centre for Probe Development and Commercialization (CPDC) has been established to translate a separation strategy developed at McMaster into a large-scale, GMP-compliant process. As a result of this work, Canada is expected to have a domestic supply of clinical grade Lu-177 by 2020, which will be used to provide therapeutic doses of this radioisotope to support ongoing clinical trials.