The sustainability of radioisotope production is one of the critical areas that receive great attention. There are more than 160 different radioisotopes that are used regularly in different fields; these isotopes are produced either in a medium or in high-flux research reactors or particle accelerators (low or medium energy). Some of the radioisotopes produced by the reactor and particle accelerators and their applications are given in Table.
| Reactor radioisotope | Half-life | Applications |
|---|---|---|
| Radioisotopes produced by reactors | ||
| Bismuth-213 | 45.59 min | It is an alpha emitter (8.4 MeV). Used for cancer treatment, e.g., in the targeted alpha therapy (TAT) |
| Cesium-131 | 9.7 days | It emits photon radiation in the X-ray range (29.5–33.5 keV). Used in brachytherapy of malignant tumors |
| Cesium-137 | 30 years | Used in medical devices (sterilization) and gauges (661.64 keV) |
| Chromium-51 | 28 days | Used in Diagnosis of gastrointestinal bleeding and to label platelets (320 keV) |
| Cobalt-60 | 5.27 years | Used for controlling the cancerous growth of cells (1173.2 keV) |
| Dysprosium-165 | 2 h | Used for synovectomy treatment of arthritis (95 keV) |
| Erbium-169 | 9.4 days | Used for relieving arthritis pain in synovial joints (8 keV) |
| Holmium-166 | 26 h | Diagnosis and treatment of liver tumors (81 keV) |
| Iodine-125 | 60 days | Used in cancer brachytherapy and radioimmunoassay (35 keV) |
| Iodine-131 | 8 days | Widely used in treating thyroid cancer and in imaging the thyroid, diagnosis, and renal blood flows (284 keV) |
| Iridium-192 | 74 days | Used as an internal radiotherapy source for cancer treatment. Strong beta emitter for high-dose rate brachytherapy (317 keV) |
| Iron-59 | 46 days | Used in studies of iron metabolism in the spleen (1095 keV) |
| Lead-212 | 10.6 h | Used in TAT for cancers (239 keV) |
| Molybdenum-99 | 66 h | Used as the parent in a generator to produce technetium-99 m (740 keV) |
| Palladium-103 | 17 days | Used to make brachytherapy permanent implant seeds for early-stage prostate cancer. Emits soft X-rays (362 keV) |
| Potassium-42 | 12.36 h | Used for potassium distribution in bodily fluids and to locate brain tumors (1524 keV) |
| Radium-223 | 11.4 days | Used to treat prostate cancers that have spread to the bones |
| Rhenium-186 | 3.71 days | Used for therapeutic purpose to relief pain in bone cancer. Beta emitter with weak gamma for imaging (137 keV) |
| Samarium-153 | 47 h | Effective in relieving the pain of secondary cancers lodged in the bone, sold as Quadra met. Beta emitter (103 keV) |
| Selenium-75 | 120 days | Used to study the production of digestive enzymes (265 keV) |
| Sodium-24 | 15 h | Used for studies of electrolytes within the body (2754 keV) |
| Ytterbium-169 | 32 days | Used for cerebrospinal fluid studies in the brain (63 keV) |
| Radioisotopes produced by accelerators | ||
| Cobalt-57 | 272 days | Used as a marker to estimate organ size and for in vitro diagnostic kits (122 keV) |
| Copper-64 | 13 h | Used for PET imaging studies of tumors and also cancer therapy (511 keV) |
| Copper-67 | 2.6 days | Beta emitter, used in therapy |
| Fluorine-18 | 110 min | Used as fluorothymidine (FLT) |
| Gallium-67 | 78 h | Used for tumor imaging and locating inflammatory lesions (infections) |
| Indium-111 | 2.8 days | Brain studies, infection, and colon transit studies |
| Iodine-123 | 13 h | Used for diagnosis of thyroid function |
| Rubidium-82 | 1.26 min | Convenient PET agent in myocardial perfusion imaging |
| Strontium-82 | 25 days | Used as the parent in a generator to produce Rb-82 |
| Thallium-201 | 73 h | Used for location of low-grade lymphomas |
Table.
Some of the radioisotopes produced by the reactor and particle accelerators and their applications.