High-yield reactor production of terbium-161 using thin-layer gadolinium-160 targets, simplified chloride based separation and radiolabeling of DOTA based ligands

Description

Shakera Khatoon, Amna Javed, Qaiser Khan, and Kaleem Abbas describe a leaner way to make terbium-161, a radioactive isotope gaining ground in targeted cancer therapy, in a 2026 study. Their reactor ran on enriched gadolinium-160 targets prepared two ways: standard oxide powder and a new thin-layer chloride film. A day of neutron bombardment in Pakistan's research reactor produced the isotope for testing.

Thin-layer targets used neutrons far better because less material shielded itself, reaching more than double the specific activity of bulk oxide in side-by-side batches. A resin separation in hydrochloric acid recovered most of the product and yielded a chloride form ready for direct use, skipping steps that other chemical routes demand. Purity cleared very high marks, and tagging cancer-targeting peptide carriers succeeded at high rates. The authors pitch the workflow for labs working with limited reactor resources.

Catalog record

Source: https://europepmc.org/article/MED/PMC13620108