20th International Conference on Electromagnetic Isotope Separators and Related Topics (EMISXX)

Design of High Power Target for Medical Isotope At-211 Production

Not scheduled

20m

Chateau Fairmont Whistler

Poster contribution Isotope production, target, and ion source techniques

Speaker

Ms Suping Zhang (China Institute of Atomic Energy)

Description

Abstract The medical isotope Astatine-211 (At-211), an alpha emitter, has significant application prospects in Targeted Alpha Therapy (TAT). Due to its high linear energy transfer (LET) and short range characteristics, it can effectively destruct cancer cells while causing relatively little damage to the surrounding healthy tissues. The production of At-211 is mainly achieved by bombarding the Bismuth-209 (Bi-209) target material with an accelerated $\alpha$ beam, and its nuclear reaction is $^{209}Bi$($\alpha$, 2n)$^{211} At$. Therefore, the design and optimization of the target material and structure are crucial for improving the production efficiency and purity of At-211.
This paper shows a systematic design of the production target for At-211. First by optimizing the thickness and structural design of the target, it is ensured that the energy deposition of $\alpha$ beam in the target is maximized, while reducing the thermal damage to the target. Second, bombarding the target with high power $\alpha$ beam up to 2kW will generate a large amount of heat. Therefore, an efficient cooling system (such as water cooling) is designed to maintain the stability and avoid the melting or deformation of the target. Through numerical simulation, the energy, intensity, and bombardment time of the $\alpha$ beam are optimized to increase the yield of At-211 and reduce the generation of by-products, such as At-210 which should be subject to strict restrictions. At last considering the cost and rarity of the Bismuth target material, a scheme for the recovery and recycling of the target material is designed to improve the resource utilization efficiency.
The research results show that by optimizing the target design, thermal management, and beam parameters, the production efficiency of At-211 will be significantly improved, and the service life and stability of the target material are also effectively guaranteed. This research provides important technical support for the large-scale production and clinical application of At-211.