DOE Isotope Program Highlights

News highlights from all participating national laboratories, university facilities, and other research institutions which feature work from the U.S. Department of Energy Isotope Program can be found here.

Increasing the Arsenal of Radioisotopes in the Fight Against Cancer

Increasing the Arsenal of Radioisotopes in the Fight Against Cancer

A new supply of a critical radioisotope advances personalized medicine.
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Uranium to Treat Cancer

Harnessing the Power of Uranium to Treat Disease

New system makes it easier to produce isotopes for radiopharmaceutical therapy.
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Scientists, like Korey Carter, left, and Katherine Shield, had to overcome what one of their collagues called “a long series of unfortunate events” to work out einsteinium’s chemical properties.Credit...Marilyn Sargent/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, University of California

Einsteinium is Mysterious. Scientists Have Unlocked Some of It's Secrets.

Number 99 does not occur naturally and is difficult to make and store, challenging researchers who want to study it.
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Never Quit - The DOE National Laboratories Fight Against Cancer

Never Quit - The DOE National Laboratories Fight Against Cancer

World Cancer Day is 2/4, a time to reckon with the disease that currently impacts more than a 1M Americans per year.
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Sandra Davern

Sandra Davern: Developing Medical Isotopes to Fight Cancer

When Sandra Davern looks to the future, she sees isotopes sent into the body with a specific target: cancer cells.
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Suzanne Lapi

Suzanne E. Lapi: What did the 2011 Early Career Award allow you to do?

The ECA project enabled me to get started with solid targets for the accelerator production of radioisotopes.
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Los Alamos scientist Veronika Mocko processing cerium-134 in the "Hot Cells" at Los Alamos National Laboratory.

New diagnostic isotope to enhance targeted alpha therapy for cancer

Team brings a new tool for alpha therapy by developing a paired isotope option for PET scans.
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Ce-134 mimicking Ac-225 and Th-227

Ce-134 and La-134 pair as companion PET diagnostic isotopes for Ac-225 and Th-227

Ce-134 and its daughter La-134 can be used as a PET imaging candidate for 225AcIII or 227ThIV.
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Californium-272 production team. Standing left to right - John Courtney, Dan Bettinger, Julie Ezold, Ed Smith, and Scott White.

ORNL's Californium-252 Will Play Pivotal Role in New Reactor Startups

ORNL is the only place in the world capable of efficiently producing the radioisotope californium-252.
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Sandra Davern performs cell based assays to evaluate cell death and DNA damage in response to radiation in order to gain a better understanding of how radioisotope nanoparticles affect the human body.

The Big Impact

When Sandra Davern looks to the future, she sees individualized isotopes sent into the body with a specific target: cancer cells.
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