Production of the next-generation positron nuclide zirconium-89 (89 Zr) guided by Monte Carlo simulation and its good quality for antibody labeling.

The next-generation positron zirconium-89(89 Zr, T1/2 = 3.27 days) is a novel nuclide for immuno-PET because of its favorite longer half-life. The aim of this work is to develop optimized methods for routine production and purification of 89 Zr through Monte Carlo (MC) simulation and laboratory experiments. 89 Y(p,n)89 Zr reaction was used for 89 Zr production. Optimized thicknesses of Al degrader (0.11 cm) and 89 Y foil (0.064 cm) were simulated through MC method. 89 Zr (15.0-40.7 mCi) with an average production rate of 0.92 ± 0.12 mCi/μA·h was produced after 1-2 h bombardment at the proton beam energy 20 MeV and current 20 μA. High radio-purity 89 Zr (6.14-26.8 mCi) obtained eluted from hydroxamate resin using 1 mol/L oxalic acid solution, with the concentration of 2.7×104 mCi/L. The gamma spectrum showed that the characteristic peak of 89 Zr were 511 and 909 keV, and no impurities found. [89 Zr]Zr-DFO-trastuzumab was successfully labeled and performed good radiochemical purity (>95%) and stability that showed potential application in tumor molecular imaging.