Production of 7.6-minute potassium-38 for medical use.

A method is described for generating 20--30 mCi of 7.6-min potassium-38 by means of a small cyclotron. Sodium chloride is mounted on a water-cooled tantalum plate, by evaporation from an aqueous solution. It is bombarded with 14.7 MeV helium-4 ions, at 50 microA. The K-38 is produced free of other radionuclides. For intravenous injection the bombarded NaCl is dissolved in sufficient pyrogen-free water to make an isotonic saline solution, which then is sterilized by filtration. Other methods of production investigated were the bombardment of: carbon tetrachloride with He-4 ions; calcium oxide with 7.8-MeV deuterons; and potassium chloride with 23-MeV He-3 ions. These gave products that were unsuitable for clinical applications. Chiefly because of the short half-life of K-38, the whole-body radiation exposure is estimated to be only about 12 mrad/mCi, and exposures to the heart and kidneys are approximately ten times greater.