copper-64

Copper-64 is a versatile radioactive isotope used in nuclear medicine for both diagnostic imaging and targeted radionuclide therapy. With a half-life of approximately 12.7 hours, it primarily decays via positron emission (17.8%), making it highly suitable for high-resolution Positron Emission Tomography (PET) imaging. It also undergoes beta-minus decay (38.4%) and electron capture (43.8%), which allows for potential therapeutic applications through the emission of Auger electrons and beta particles. In clinical practice, copper-64 is typically chelated to targeting ligands such as peptides (e.g., DOTATATE), monoclonal antibodies, or small molecules to visualize specific biological markers like somatostatin receptors or PSMA. It is frequently utilized as the diagnostic component of a "theranostic" pair, often matched with the therapeutic isotope copper-67.

Brand names

Detectnet

Other names

Copper Cu 64Radioactive copper