Chemical properties
In solution Cu-67 is usually in divalent state. It can be radiolabelled with macrocyclic chelators. DOTA is being used, but other, specific copper chelators such as MeCOSar may provide improved stability REF.
Nuclear properties
Cu-67 decays by β- decay with a half-life of 2.576(5) days to stable Zn-67. It emits a low energy β- spectrum with 145 keV average energy and 561 keV maximum energy based on branching ratios measured by Chen et al. REF. In addition to β- emission it also emits low energy conversion and Auger electrons REF, thus emitting in total about 1.2 electrons (with energies above 7 keV) per decay.
Moreover, Cu-67 emits γ-rays at 184.6 keV (44.2%) and 91.3 / 93.3 keV (together 21.1%) REF which are suitable for SPECT imaging.
The mean electron energy emitted per decay is 148 keV, the mean photon energy per decay is 101 keV REF.
Production
Cu-67 is produced by proton irradiation of enriched Zn-70 targets at Hevesy Lab, (DTU, Denmark), and at the Institute of Radiopharmaceutical Cancer Research (HZDR, Dresden).
Distribution
The radiochemical separation is performed at production site and the activity will be shipped to the users in the form of CuCl2 solution.
Examples of use
| Parameter | Specifications |
|---|---|
| Production route | Zn-70(p,α)Cu-67 |
| Daughter | Decays to stable Zn-67: 100% β- |
| Half-life | 61.8 h |
| Processing | 2-step column separation |
| Primary Container | 2.5 mL borosilicate glass V-vial with silicone rubber screw cap |
| Product Grade | n.c.a. |
| Physical Form | Liquid or solid deposit |
| Chemical Form | In 0.1 M HCl (evaporation to dryness is also possible) |
| Radioactive Concentration (gamma spectrometry) | n.a. |
| Appearance | Clear colourless solution |
| Radionuclide identification (gamma spectrometry) | 185 keV gamma line present |
| Radionuclidic Purity (gamma spectrometry) | >95% |
| Chemical purity (ICP-OES) | Metal impurities determined by ICP-OES for each batch. Typical 8 nmol Cu, 4 nmol Fe, 4nmol Zn, 140 nmol Al, and 80 nmol Ca per batch (subject to revision) |
| Molar activity (ICP-OES) | >20 GBq/μmol at end of chemistry (>1% of theoretical maximum) |
| Apparent Molar Activity | n.a. |
| Microbiological quality | n.a. |
| Bacterial endotoxin | n.a. |
| pH (pH strips) | Depends on chemical form |
| Additional information | |
| Activity available | 200 MBq per batch (more to be discussed) |
| Activity limit for UN2910 (excepted package) shipment | 0.7 GBq in dry state or 70 MBq in liquid form |
| Other information | - |
