U.P.B. Sci. Bull., Series A, Vol. 79, Iss. 1, 2017 ISSN 1223-7027 MEDICAL RADIOISOTOPES PRODUCTION AT TR-19 CYCLOTRON FROM IFIN-HH Radu-Anton LEONTE 1 , Dana NICULAE 2 , Liviu Ștefan CRĂCIUN 3 , Gheorghe CĂTA-DANIL 4 A new cyclotron and a radiopharmaceutical laboratory for radioisotope production and multi-disciplinary research have recently become operational in IFIN-HH. The variable energy of TR-19 cyclotron meets the optimal range for production of commonly used radioisotopes in PET imaging, as well as some research isotopes. In this paper are presented the modalities to obtain the radioisotopes via cyclotron irradiation, with focus on obtaining 99m Tc and 68 Ga. Specific technical aspects and the advantages of the proposed methods are discussed. It is shown that the cyclotron route represents a feasible alternative for production of 99m Tc and 68 Ga to the current method of generator, widely considered as a standard. Keywords: radioisotopes, cyclotron, 99m Tc, 68 Ga, 18 F, PET 1. Introduction The constant progress in the radioactivity field, along with the evolution of the nuclear reactions research, led to increased development for production of radioisotopes [1]. The route of obtaining artificial radioisotopes by irradiation of various types of targets at the cyclotrons represents an important modality for producing them. The range of radioisotopes obtained in this way is wide and depends both on the targets characteristics and technical parameters of the cyclotrons. All radioisotopes used in nuclear medicine are artificial isotopes. Worldwide, most of the radioisotopes employed in medical applications are produced at nuclear reactors, but another significant part of them can be obtained only by irradiation at cyclotron or similar particle accelerators [2]. In nuclear medicine the radioactive isotopes are employed both in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases. Due to the short half-life of the radioisotopes used for medical imaging (ranging from minutes to few days), preclinical and clinical studies should take place in the proximity of their production place [3]. 1 PhD student, Faculty of Applied Sciences, University POLITEHNICA of Bucharest, Romania, and Radiopharmaceuticals Research Centre, Horia Hulubei National Institute for R&D in Physics and Nuclear Engineering, Romania, e-mail: radu.leonte@nipne.ro 2 Head of department, Radiopharmaceuticals Research Centre, Horia Hulubei National Institute for R&D in Physics and Nuclear Engineering, Romania, e-mail: dana.niculae@nipne.ro 3 Senior Researcher, Radiopharmaceuticals Research Centre, Horia Hulubei National Institute for R&D in Physics and Nuclear Engineering, Romania, e-mail: cliviu@nipne.ro 4 Professor, Department of Physics, University POLITEHNICA of Bucharest, Romania, e-mail: cata-danil@physics.pub.ro