isotopesIsotopeApproved

Copper-64

aka 64Cu

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.

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.

It 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.

Because 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.

Symbol

64Cu · Copper

Half-life

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

Particle class

mixed

Used for

imaging

How it is made

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 today

emerging · Limited to cyclotron centres with enriched 64Ni targets; regional supply rather than universal, but expanding alongside interest in the 64Cu/67Cu theranostic pair.

Usual chemistry

DOTA
SARTATE/SAR-bisPSMA (sarcophagine cages)

In medical use since

2020

Theranostic partners

Copper-67 · A radioactive form of copper that pairs with a diagnostic twin made of the same element, copper-64. Using the same metal for the scan and the treatment means the tracer behaves identically both times, which should make dosing more predictable.

Products

5top

ApprovedPET tracer

Copper-64 dotatate · Detectnet

An injectable tracer that sticks to a marker (somatostatin receptor) many neuroendocrine tumours carry. A PET scan afterwards shows where those tumours are, including small deposits that other scans can miss.

Phase 3PET tracer

Copper-64 SAR-bisPSMA

An experimental PET tracer for prostate cancer that binds the same target as approved PSMA scans (PSMA) but, because its radioactive tag lasts longer, can be re-imaged a day later to catch small deposits the first picture missed. It is not yet approved for sale.

ApprovedPET radiotracer (somatostatin receptor ligand)

Gallium-68 DOTATATE (and Cu-64 DOTATATE) · Netspot / Detectnet

The PET scan for neuroendocrine tumours that finds far more disease than older scans and confirms eligibility for lutetium radioligand therapy (the theranostic pair).

ApprovedPET tracer

Gallium-68 edotreotide (DOTATOC)

A cousin of the Ga-68 DOTATATE and Cu-64 DOTATATE scans: it sticks to the same receptor on neuroendocrine tumours and lets PET find them. It is FDA-approved but, unusually, has no brand name and no pharmaceutical-company sponsor.

ApprovedSPECT tracer

Indium-111 pentetreotide · OctreoScan

The original nuclear medicine scan for finding neuroendocrine tumours, used before PET scans like Ga-68 DOTATATE became available. It is still FDA-approved but has largely been superseded because PET gives sharper pictures with less radiation.