METRICS (INFN-CSN5, 2018-2021)
METRICS project, acronym for Multimodal pET/mRi Imaging with Cyclotron-produced 52/51Mn iSotopes, was dedicated to 52Mn accelerator-based production and to the development of innovative radiopharmaceuticals for PET/MRI dual-imaging purposes.
To establish the potential of radioactive manganese chloride as a safe clinical PET imaging agent, the radiation effective dose of both 51Mn and 52Mn chloride has been assessed with the OLINDA code, in collaboration with experts in dosimetric studies (IOV and Padova). Simulations were carried out to compare the amount of activity and radionuclidic purity of 52gMn produced by different reactions as well as the dose increase to the patient caused by the radioactive contaminants co-produced by each reaction.
Different Cr target configurations have been studied using the SPS technique starting from natCr and 52Cr powder. After the sintering of the Cr pellet, its adhesion to the backing support (Au/Cu, Nb or Au/Nb) was carried out by SPS process. The obtained targets have been successfully tested at 50 μA (energy 19 MeV and 16 MeV), the maximum current available in the medical cyclotron of the Sacro Cuore Don Calabria hospital.
A dedicated dissolution reactor was developed to dissolve the solid targets after irradiation to process the produced radioisotope with automatic modules, as betetr optimized during the STARDIS project. Within this project, we recently investigated a new class of Mn(II) complexes to be potentially used as MRI contrast media and in particular the synthesis, characterization and evaluation of magnetic properties by phantom image studies of the new [Mn(II)(1.4-dioxa-8-azaspiro[4.5]decane-8-carbodithioate)2]·2 H2O compound potentially useful as MRI contrast agent, in collaboration with the Ferrara University Radiochemistry, radiopharmacy and preclinical imaging
