The Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory is vital to a robust domestic isotope R&D and production ecosystem in the U.S. and is able to provide more than 300 isotopes that are used by researchers, pharmaceutical companies, and others. For almost 80 years, ORNL has produced medical isotopes to help diagnose and treat a variety of diseases and conditions, from heart disease to cancer.
Here are five in-demand radioisotopes ORNL supplies that are now being used in clinical trials - plus one emerging medical stable isotope.
Actinium-225
Hailed as a breakthrough in cancer treatment, actinium-225 can be attached to a molecule that locks onto a specific type of cancer cell, allowing it to deliver high-energy but short-distance alpha radiation. This process, called targeted alpha therapy, can irreparably damage a cancer cell's DNA. ORNL routinely harvests actinium-225 from decaying thorium-229.
Actinium-227
Already used to make an FDA-approved treatment for metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer - Bayer Pharmaceuticals' Xofigo® - actinium-227 decays to radium-223. It is also used to generate other radioisotopes that have potential uses in cancer therapies. ORNL produces actinium-227 through reactor irradiation of radium-226 targets.
Lead-212
This radioisotope, along with its daughter radioisotope, bismuth-212, is in demand for promising new cancer treatments, including targeted alpha therapy. Bismuth-212's short half-life allows for outpatient treatment, and it has minimal effect on healthy organs. ORNL produces lead-212 generators for medical providers from its own supply of thorium-228.
Thorium-228
Created during actinium-227 production or on its own, both through reactor irradiation of radium-226 targets, thorium-228 is the parent radioisotope of radium-224. Radium-224 decays to lead-212, which then decays to bismuth-212 - isotopes used in medicine for diagnostics and targeted alpha therapy treatment of cancer. Thorium-228 can be used as a generator: Clinicians can store it onsite in glass vials and extract its decay products as needed.
Radium-226
Historically used in brachytherapy, which places radioactive isotopes near tumors, radium-226 is recycled at ORNL and other institutions from previously used medical devices. As interest in targeted alpha therapy treatments increases, so does the demand for radium-226 feedstock to produce key alpha-emitters, including actinium-225, actinium-227, thorium-228 and thorium-229.
Along with these radioisotopes, researchers are also turning to an emerging stable isotope:
Xenon-129
This isotope can provide vastly increased resolution and sensitivity in lung imaging without ionizing radiation, so it can be used for repeated imaging throughout the course of treatment for lung diseases, including cancer.
UT-Battelle manages ORNL for the Department of Energy's Office of Science, the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States. The Office of Science is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit energy.gov/science .
