Shulou(Shulou.com)11/24 Report--

When it comes to nuclear radiation, people are always filled with fear that it will induce cancer. What people do not know, however, is that nuclear radiation can also be used to treat cancer. There is a science film called the rarest drug in the world, which describes the efforts made by scientists to produce Actinium-225. Actinium-225 can be used as a radiopharmaceutical, thus changing the way we treat cancer.

Actinium-225, blue light radiopharmaceuticals ionized by alpha particles in the surrounding air have many different isotopes of the same element, among which there may be radioisotopes, which are extremely unstable and spontaneously release ionizing radiation. this process is called radioactive decay. α decay, β decay and γ decay are the three main types of radioactive decay. The half-life is an important parameter of these radioisotopes, which represents the time it takes for half of the atoms in the sample to decay.

Radiopharmaceuticals contain radioisotopes, which can rely on radiation to provide diagnostic information and can also be used to treat cancer and other diseases. Scientists attach radioisotopes to drug molecules and then accumulate the drug in some parts of the body. As decay occurs, it emits radiation, but its specific type of application depends on its radiation intensity and half-life.

For example, there are some radioisotopes whose half-lives are calculated in hours and emit relatively weak radiation, so they are ideal for organ imaging without causing serious harm to patients. There are some radioisotopes whose half-lives are measured in days, which have a high intensity of radiation attenuation, so they are suitable for killing cancer cells, thus opening up a new field: targeted alpha particle therapy.

Physical principle of targeted alpha particle therapy among the three kinds of decay, alpha decay is the most suitable for treatment. Alpha decay releases alpha particles from the nucleus, which contains two protons and two neutrons. Compared with other forms of decay, it is slower and heavier and cannot penetrate tissue too far (about a few cells in diameter). Because this radiation path is short, it will not affect other healthy cells. Also because of its large transfer energy, it can also tear DNA and kill cancer cells.

However, if you want to put these radioactive elements into a designated location, you need to combine them with biomolecules. An antibody, for example, specifically looks for and binds to receptors on cancer cells, and radioisotopes can be transmitted directly to cancer cells.

However, we cannot randomly choose a radioactive element that can release alpha particles. Some elements do not attach well to drug molecules. Some elements have a long half-life and are easy to leave toxic side effects in the body. Some elements have a short half-life and decay before they enter the body. Despite these disadvantages, scientists have found that Actinium-225 is a good choice.

Actinium-225: the rarest drug Actinium-225 occurs alpha decay with a half-life of 10 days. This time is long and long, it allows radioactive elements to accumulate in the target area, but it is also short enough not to stay in the body for too long, causing harm to the human body.

As early as 1993, some scientists reported that Actinium-225 has the potential to treat cancer. But it was not until 2004 that it proved to be effective. However, there is still a problem that prevents scientists from studying it, that is, it is extremely rare. Actinium-225 has been obtained from the decay of thorium-229 for decades, but this is only a trace.

In recent years, with the rise of global demand, scientists have begun to produce Actinium-225 in particle cyclotrons. They use accelerators to increase the speed of protons to a certain level, but let it hit a piece of thorium, which can produce the Actinium-225 we want. Now, different institutions around the world are using this method to produce more Actinium-225 for treatment and research.

This article comes from the official account of Wechat: Vientiane experience (ID:UR4351), author: Eugene Wang

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