OPPORTUNITY TO PRODUCE RADIOISOTOPES ASTATINE-211 USING DECY-13 CONCEPTUAL DESIGN WITH COMPUTATIONAL APPROACH

Abstract

To catch up research gap with developed countries, Indonesia would build a cyclotron type accelerator that has the code name DECY-13. Detailed design and conceptual design of DECY-13 were published, thus to accelerated applied research of DECY-13, it is necessary to hold a preliminary study even before the cyclotron is commissioned. Astatine-211 (²¹¹At) is an alpha-rays emit radioisotope that is easy to direct labeling for targeted alpha therapy. Targeted alpha therapy (TAT) is the selectively deliver therapy that uses alpha-ray base radioisotopes that are produced using a cyclotron like DECY-13. DECY-13 was designed to accelerate a proton to 13 MeV. however, it does not rule out the possibility of accelerating alpha particles. A computational approach will be used to simulate the possibility of DECT-13 to accelerate alpha particles for the production of ²¹¹At from natural Bismuth. The theoretical calculation was predicting that the alpha particle (helium nucleus) could be accelerated in DECY-13, but the energy decreased increasingly after hitting niobium layer twice and helium cooling layer into 4.06 MeV. The 0.924 grams of natural bismuth was irradiated 8 hours long and 4 hours cooling. At EOB was not found radioisotopes, radioactivity and dose emitted. The inability to produce ²¹¹At because the energy of the accelerated alpha particles has not been able to penetrate the bismuth nucleus. the continuation simulation successfully predicts if the niobium layer thinned to 125 mm can be obtained ²¹¹At with low impurity. on the other side, if the energy of DECY-13 would be increased until 28 MeV ²¹¹At can be produced but the impurity was increased to. Furthermore, DECY-13 Cyclotron is not able to produce ²¹¹At from bismuth-209. To obtain ²¹¹At from ²⁰⁹Bi, it is necessary to create another engineering design of cyclotron or use another proton-base reaction.