Objective: The goal of this study was to develop an improved (62)Zn/(62)Cu generator based on cation exchange resin and remote preparation at high radioactivity scale for clinical use.
Methods: A natural Cu target was irradiated with proton beam in the energy range of 30-->19 MeV at a beam current of 10 muA for 1 h to obtain around 1.7 GBq of (62)Zn. The (62)Zn was isolated from the Cu target on an anion exchange column with more than 97% yield within 2.5 h from the EOB. The (62)Zn/(62)Cu generator was prepared by loading the (62)Zn(2+) on a Sep-Pak plus CM cartridge.
Results: The generator showed high elution efficiency ( approximately 96%) using a small volume (ca. 3 ml) of a 200-mM glycine solution with a very low breakthrough of (62)Zn (<0.1%).
Conclusions: This (62)Zn/(62)Cu generator has been proven to be highly useful as a source of (62)Cu for the synthesis of (62)Cu-labeled compounds. The clinical application of [(62)Cu]Cu-ATSM produced with this generator has been already approved by the Institutional Review Board at the National Institute of Radiological Sciences.