Date/Time
Date(s) - 11/03/2020
1:30 pm - 2:30 pm

Location: ABB 163

Title: Harnessing the Unstable: Radioisotope Production andRadiopharmaceutical Synthesis for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Disease 

From its inception, the Life Sciences division at TRIUMF hasleveraged the laboratory’s extensive particle accelerator expertise and infrastructureto explore novel technology that help us understand life at the molecular level.The production of short-lived (half-life <2 hr) positron emitting isotopes (C-11,F-18, N-13, etc.) and corresponding radiopharmaceuticals has long provided afoundation for the division’s interdisciplinary science program. More recentefforts have focused on the collaborative development of novel F-18 chemistryand applications toward the synthesis of radiolabeled amino acids as novelimaging agents for cancer. We have developed novel methods to labelunprotected, branched aliphatic amino acid in mild, aqueous conditions and haveused this method to synthesize several system L amino acid transporter substrates.In particular, the potential of several L-[¹⁸F]fluorohomoleucine([¹⁸F]FHL) derivatives for tumor imaging will be discussed. We havealso developed 5-[¹⁸F]-fluoroaminosuberic acid ([¹⁸F]FASu)which targets the cystine-glutamate antiporter (system x_C^–),which plays a key role in maintaining cellular redox balance, allowing our teamto explore the use of PET to non-invasively monitor tumor response to therapy.

Beyondimaging, a global renaissance in the production and application of various therapeutic,alpha- (Ac-225, Bi-213, At-211), beta- (Lu-177, Y-90) and Auger- (Sb-119) emittingisotopes is underway; many of which are now entering clinical trials for thetreatment of late-stage cancers. The second part of this seminar will providean update on TRIUMF’s efforts related to the large-scale production of ²²⁵Ac(t_1/2 = 9.9 d) by the irradiation of thorium metal with 480 MeVprotons. This presentation will provide an update on our production effortswith a focus on a comparison of different product isolation methods and the synthesisand biodistribution of several targeted radiopharmaceuticals.