Research hot cell with active air compression and cool down system

• Subject Area: Molecular Chemistry ; Biological Chemistry and Food Chemistry
• Term: Funded in 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 518282844

Subject of the application a lead-shielded, gas-tight research hot cell with accessories for handling short-lived, radioactive cyclotron products. The research hot cell serves to develop the full capacity of the GE PETtrace 700S cyclotron at Johannes Gutenberg University (JGU), which is designed for the production of radioactive carbon-11 (11C) and fluorine-18 (18F) but cannot be used in research due to a lack of infrastructure. As part of the appointment of a new W3 professor for radiopharmaceutical chemistry at JGU, the nuclides 11C and 18F became the focus of a cyclotron-based research profile, from basic research to clinical studies. Currently, this goal is hardly achievable, since working with gaseous 11C is associated with a high risk of unintentional activity release, while radiosynthesis has to be carried out manually, i.e. with low starting activities. As per the operating permit, 11C and 18F must be delivered into a hot cell in room 01-462 (building 1264). This is a clean room area designed for the production of radiopharmaceuticals for human applications. Use for pharmaceutical purposes and basic chemical research are incompatible. The room is practically inaccessible to academic staff. Radionuclides are brought into the research laboratories by hand and manipulated manually in shielded fume hoods, which is not a timely standard. No hot cells are available for research. For 11C research, manual handling is problematic as it is associated with a high risk of release. The building has an air filter system, which prevents the release of activity into the environment. However, this filter system is unsuitable for low-molecular weight gases, i.e. [11C]carbon dioxide, the primary product of 11C production, is not retained. The installation of a research hot cell equipped with an active air containment system to prevent the release of contaminated exhaust air in a lab next to the clean room will remedy the situation. The new cell is connected to the cyclotron via a target switch. A new client station allows for remote control of the cyclotron directly from the laboratory. The new cell solves the above problems and thus improves the effective cross section of the large DFG-funded devices at JGU (cyclotron, PET and PET/MR scanner). In the future, fully automated radiosynthesis in the cell will allow the use of high 11C and 18F activities, so that high molar activities can be achieved in order to carry out PET studies under ideal conditions. The hot cell allows a significant increase in the capacity of the cyclotron in research and opens up a wide range of opportunities for close cooperation between the working groups for nuclear chemistry, organic chemistry, pharmacy, neuroscience and nuclear medicine on issues of radiopharmaceutical sciences/imaging. By bundling such research competence, new impulses can be implemented in everything from basic research to translational research.

• DFG Programme: Major Research Instrumentation
• Major Instrumentation: Forschungsheißzelle mit Abluftverpressungs- und Abklinganlage
• Instrumentation Group: 0320 Strahlenschutz, heiße Zellen (außer für Radiologie 328)
• Applicant Institution: Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz
• Leader: Professor Dr. Patrick Riss