Design a production method for radiopharmaceutical Actinium-225 used in cancer treatments.
Team: Dana Murphy, Preston Lee, Aeryn Potocnak, Robert Ruisanchez
Project Advisor: Professor Dominik Fritz
Members of the design group
Project Motivation
Actinium-225 is an isotope that produces high-energy alpha particles, making it a promising next-generation cancer treatment. However, this isotope is incredibly difficult to produce in large quantities. Existing Ac-225 production is contingent on the natural decay of limited quantities of stockpiled Th-229, which is a time-intensive process that produces a small quantity of Ac-225. The design team aims to take advantage of the disparity between demand of Ac-225 and its supply by developing a method for producing pure Ac-225 in large quantities.
Geometry of the irradiation setup
Project Description:
The goal of the project is to design a production strategy to generate at least 100 mCi of Actinium-225 annually within a $100 million budget and an eight-year loan repayment timeline. The design team explored multiple production methods focusing on a balance of feasibility, cost-efficiency, and environmental safety. The team selected an indirect production method utilizing (n,2n) transmutation of Ra-226 into Ra-225, which decays into Ac-225. The team simulated the selected production method in MCNP to ensure the design met the production and safety requirements for a functional radiopharmaceutical facility.
Production schedule
Results and Accomplishments
The design meets the production objective by providing 114 mCi of Actinium per year. The shielding was designed to ensure a dose rate of less than 100 mRem per year assuming constant irradiation with a conservative quality factor, consistent with NRC regulations for dose to the public. The design team estimated the capital construction cost to be less than $25 million USD, a quarter of the $100 million USD loan provided for the project, most of the cost associated with the cyclotron and radium target material. Operational costs of just over $1 million USD per year ensures quick loan repayment over an eight year period. The project meets the outlined requirements for shielding and exceeds the outlined requirements for production amount, facility layout, and cost, with a final cost per mCi of $44,290 USD.