Samarium-153 production using (n,γ) reaction at Triga Puspati research reactor

Bone pain due to cancer which have spread to the skeleton become one of the major problem facing by cancer patients. Systemic treatments such as chemotherapy and narcotic analgesics such as codeine and morphine were used but have their own limitations. Samarium-153 has been approved by the US FDA as ”bone palliative treatment” which can be used as the alternative to treat bone pain when labelled with ethylenediamine tetramethylene phosphonate (EDTMP) ligand, a bone-targeted agent. It is not a cure but rather a palliative treatment for patients which cancer has spread to their bone. Samarium-153 was produced by neutron activation of raw materials of Samarium-152 trioxide. Samarium-153 produces beta particles that work to reduce bone pain due to cancer and gamma rays that act as imaging agents and allow patients to perform imaging through gamma cameras. The average energy of the beta particle for Samarium-153 is 233 keV. The beta particle Samarium-153 moves a maximum distance of 3.0 mm in a soft tissue and 1.7 mm in the bone where the Samarium-153 properties are ideal for therapeutic treatment to reduce bone pain and bone loss to patients due to cancer-causing illness. The Medical Technology Division is capable of producing Samarium-153 radioisotope using TRIGA PUSPATI Reactor (RTP) in Malaysian Nuclear Agency. Irradiation was often performed continuously for 18 hours on the neutron flux of 0.6 × 1013 ncm−2s−1 and the activity strength obtained was about 30 mCi/mg Samarium trioxide which is sufficient for use in nuclear medicine at hospitals.