{"entity":{"id":"cu-64","kind":"isotope","name":"Copper-64","aka":["64Cu"],"tldr":"A radioactive metal that lasts about half a day, long enough to image slower-moving molecules such as antibodies, and chemically identical to copper-67, the isotope used to treat with the same tracer.","summary":"Copper-64 has an unusually long half-life for a positron emitter, 12.7 hours, and a three-way decay: 17.5-19% positron emission, roughly 40-44% electron capture, and about 38-39% beta-minus decay, so the same nuclide gives PET signal and a small therapeutic beta dose. Its half-life is long enough to image both fast-clearing peptides and slower-clearing antibodies and nanoparticles, and it forms a same-element theranostic pair with copper-67, which shares the identical chelation chemistry so a diagnostic 64Cu scan predicts the biodistribution of a 67Cu therapy exactly.\n\nIt is produced almost exclusively on medical cyclotrons via 64Ni(p,n)64Cu on an enriched nickel-64 target electroplated onto a metal backing, a well-established, high-specific-activity route; a bombardment of a few hours on a 40 mg target can yield roughly 18.5 GBq. Reactor routes (64Zn(n,p)64Cu, 63Cu(n,γ)64Cu) exist but give lower specific activity and are used less often clinically.\n\nBecause the 64Ni target is expensive and the reaction requires a dedicated cyclotron run, 64Cu is made at a limited number of centres and supplied regionally rather than being universally available the way 18F is; the sstr2-targeted 64Cu-DOTATATE (Detectnet) is the main approved clinical use in the United States.","status":"approved","asOf":"2026-09-22","links":[{"label":"IAEA: copper-64 radiopharmaceuticals, production, quality control","url":"https://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/Publications/PDF/PUB1961_web.pdf"},{"label":"PMC: recent advances in 64Cu/67Cu-based radiopharmaceuticals (2023)","url":"https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10288943/"}],"tags":["positron emitter","theranostic pair","same-element pair"],"related":["ga68-dotatate"],"indications":[],"sections":[],"technologies":["sstr-pet","pet","cyclotron-isotope-production"],"targets":[],"drugs":[],"companies":[],"institutions":[],"pathways":[],"terms":[],"trials":[],"people":[],"bottlenecks":[],"keyPapers":[],"journals":[],"dependsOn":[],"notes":[],"symbol":"64Cu","element":"Copper","massNumber":64,"halfLife":"12.7 hours","emissions":["β+ 17.5% (max 0.653 MeV)","electron capture ~44%","β− 38.5% (max 0.579 MeV)","annihilation γ 511 keV"],"emissionClass":"mixed","use":"imaging","production":"Cyclotron: 64Ni(p,n)64Cu on enriched nickel-64 target (dominant route); reactor 64Zn(n,p)64Cu or 63Cu(n,γ)64Cu give lower specific activity.","supply":"emerging","supplyNote":"Limited to cyclotron centres with enriched 64Ni targets; regional supply rather than universal, but expanding alongside interest in the 64Cu/67Cu theranostic pair.","chelators":["DOTA","SARTATE/SAR-bisPSMA (sarcophagine cages)"],"pairedWith":["cu-67"],"since":2020},"route":"/isotopes/cu-64/","neighbours":{"drug":[{"id":"cu-64-dotatate","kind":"drug","name":"Copper-64 dotatate","route":"/drugs/cu-64-dotatate/"},{"id":"cu-64-sar-bispsma","kind":"drug","name":"Copper-64 SAR-bisPSMA","route":"/drugs/cu-64-sar-bispsma/"},{"id":"ga68-dotatate","kind":"drug","name":"Gallium-68 DOTATATE (and Cu-64 DOTATATE)","route":"/drugs/ga68-dotatate/"},{"id":"ga-68-dotatoc","kind":"drug","name":"Gallium-68 edotreotide (DOTATOC)","route":"/drugs/ga-68-dotatoc/"},{"id":"in-111-pentetreotide","kind":"drug","name":"Indium-111 pentetreotide","route":"/drugs/in-111-pentetreotide/"}],"technology":[{"id":"albumin-binder-ligands","kind":"technology","name":"Albumin-binder ligands","route":"/technologies/albumin-binder-ligands/"},{"id":"automated-synthesis-modules","kind":"technology","name":"Automated synthesis modules","route":"/technologies/automated-synthesis-modules/"},{"id":"cyclotron-isotope-production","kind":"technology","name":"Cyclotron isotope production (F-18, Ga-68, Cu-64, Zr-89, At-211)","route":"/technologies/cyclotron-isotope-production/"},{"id":"immuno-pet","kind":"technology","name":"Immuno-PET","route":"/technologies/immuno-pet/"},{"id":"medical-cyclotrons-synthesis-modules","kind":"technology","name":"Medical cyclotrons, hot cells, and synthesis modules","route":"/technologies/medical-cyclotrons-synthesis-modules/"},{"id":"pet","kind":"technology","name":"PET (positron emission tomography)","route":"/technologies/pet/"},{"id":"sarcophagine-chelation","kind":"technology","name":"Sarcophagine chelation","route":"/technologies/sarcophagine-chelation/"},{"id":"sstr-pet","kind":"technology","name":"Somatostatin receptor PET (68Ga/64Cu-DOTATATE)","route":"/technologies/sstr-pet/"}],"company":[{"id":"clarity-pharmaceuticals","kind":"company","name":"Clarity Pharmaceuticals","route":"/companies/clarity-pharmaceuticals/"},{"id":"nucleus-radiopharma","kind":"company","name":"Nucleus RadioPharma","route":"/companies/nucleus-radiopharma/"},{"id":"nuclidium","kind":"company","name":"Nuclidium","route":"/companies/nuclidium/"}],"term":[{"id":"biological-half-life","kind":"term","name":"Biological half-life","route":"/terms/biological-half-life/"},{"id":"chelator-term","kind":"term","name":"Chelator (bifunctional chelating agent)","route":"/terms/chelator-term/"},{"id":"krenning-score","kind":"term","name":"Krenning score","route":"/terms/krenning-score/"},{"id":"prrt-term","kind":"term","name":"PRRT (peptide receptor radionuclide therapy)","route":"/terms/prrt-term/"},{"id":"theranostic-pair-term","kind":"term","name":"Theranostic pair","route":"/terms/theranostic-pair-term/"}],"trial":[{"id":"nct06298916","kind":"trial","name":"64Cu-LNTH-1363S in Patients With Sarcoma or Gastrointestinal Tract Cancer","route":"/trials/nct06298916/"},{"id":"nct04868604","kind":"trial","name":"64Cu-SAR-bisPSMA and 67Cu-SAR-bisPSMA for Identification and Treatment of PSMA-expressing Metastatic Castrate Resistant Prostate Cancer (SECuRE)","route":"/trials/nct04868604/"},{"id":"nct06235151","kind":"trial","name":"Copper Cu 64 PSMA I&T PET Imaging in Men With Newly Diagnosed Prostate Cancer","route":"/trials/nct06235151/"},{"id":"nct06474806","kind":"trial","name":"Safety and Diagnostic Performance of uPAR PET Imaging in Localised, Untreated Prostate Cancer","route":"/trials/nct06474806/"}],"pairing":[{"id":"ga68-dotatate-then-lutathera","kind":"pairing","name":"68Ga-DOTATATE PET before Lutathera (177Lu-DOTATATE)","route":"/pairings/ga68-dotatate-then-lutathera/"},{"id":"sstr-pet-to-prrt","kind":"pairing","name":"SSTR PET → PRRT","route":"/pairings/sstr-pet-to-prrt/"}],"opportunity":[{"id":"opp-her3-imaging-crossover","kind":"opportunity","name":"HER3 imaging, and why three tracers stalled","route":"/opportunities/opp-her3-imaging-crossover/"}],"idea":[{"id":"idea-copper-theranostic-pair-standard","kind":"idea","name":"A single-molecule copper-64/copper-67 pair instead of switching ligands between scan and treatment","route":"/ideas/idea-copper-theranostic-pair-standard/"}],"isotope":[{"id":"cu-67","kind":"isotope","name":"Copper-67","route":"/isotopes/cu-67/"}],"target":[{"id":"her3","kind":"target","name":"HER3 (ERBB3)","route":"/targets/her3/"},{"id":"integrin-avb3","kind":"target","name":"Integrin αvβ3","route":"/targets/integrin-avb3/"},{"id":"upar","kind":"target","name":"uPAR (urokinase plasminogen activator receptor)","route":"/targets/upar/"}]}}