Alpha particle bombarded cancer tissue: a generator holds uranium-230 to produce thorium-226; a further decay to short-lived daughters emits four more alpha particles resulting in a very high combined radiation dose delivered to cancer cells.

The production of uranium-230 starts with the placing of thorium metal, which occurs abundantly in nature as thorium-232, in a high energy proton beam. During this process, some of the natural thorium is converted into the isotope proactinium-230. The protactinium-230 decays into uranium-230, which further decays to form an isotope of the element thorium, thorium-226. Both of these isotopes, uranium-230 and thorium-226, have the potential for use in radiopharmaceuticals. The apparatus that provides the short-lived thorium-226 daughter from the decay of its longer-lived parent uranium-230 is called a “generator.” A generator uses simple, distinct chemical steps to cleanly separate the parent from the daughter, which gives a continual supply for the next steps in radiopharmaceutical development. DOE Isotope Program researchers are now working on scaled-up production of uranium-230 to make both these isotopes widely available for broader evaluation as potential therapy agents.

To read more please visit:

https://www.newswise.com/doescience/harnessing-the-power-of-uranium-to-treat-disease/?article_id=754680

Source: News wise