Oral Presentation Royal Australian Chemical Institute National Congress 2026

Terbium-161 Radiochemistry and Radiopharmaceuticals (136327)

Neha Agarwal 1 , Muhamad Basit Febrian 1 , Paul Pellegrini 2 , Amit Hetsron 1 , Michael Izard 2 , Flora Mansour 2 , Carl Recsei 2 , Leila R Hill 2 , Daniel J Rivinoja 2 , Twisha Sevak 2 , Phillip Janowicz 2 , Elisabeth Tondl 2 , David Zahra 2 , Ashley Walker 2 , Aleksandra Bjelosevic 2 , Amanda McDonald 2 , Maxine P Roberts 2 , Bethany Apperley 2 , Ivan Greguric 2 , Loan Le 2 , Leena Burgess 2 , Lidia Matesic 2 , Andrew Winthorpe 2 , Louis M Rendina 1 , Benjamin H Fraser 2
  1. School of Chemistry, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
  2. Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO), Kirrawee, NSW, Australia

Terbium-161 has emerged as a promising radioisotope for targeted radionuclide therapy (TRT) and has similar properties to the well-established TRT radioisotope lutetium-177.1 These include; 1) a relatively low energy beta emission (~154 keV) which are ideal for treatment of cancers characterised by small, metastatic lesions, 2) a half-life of approximately 7 days which is suitable for smaller molecules but ideal for larger biological vectors including proteins and antibodies, and 3) well-known lanthanoid chemistry which allows radiolabelling in high radiochemical yields and high specific activities. The key difference and potential significant advantage of terbium-161 are the presence large numbers of low energy Auger electron emissions (12-15 per decay) which have a very short sub-cellular range (~1 nm – 1 μm) and high linear energy transfer. These highly damaging electrons make terbium-161 an exceptionally promising candidates for treatment of metastatic cancer with difficult to treat micro-metastases.2 In addition to producing established terbium-161 radiopharmaceuticals, we are also radiolabelling new vectors including small molecules targeting glioblastoma multiforme - a highly aggressive brain cancer with low survival rates (5-7% after 5 years).3 The effectiveness of all new Tb-161 radiolabelled vectors will be evaluated in cell uptake and cell viability assays. This work is part of the ARC funded Industrial Transformation Training Centre (ITTC) for Advanced Radiochemical Technologies - a training centre that brings to ANSTO many Australian PhD students and post-doctoral researchers to train in aspects of radioisotope production, radiolabelling optimisation and radiopharmaceutical formulation and delivery. 

  1. Mishiro, K.; Hanaoka, H.; Yamaguchi, A.; Ogawa, K. Coord. Chem. Rev. 2019, 104-131.
  2. Van Laere, C.; Koole, M.; Deroose, C. M.; Van de Voorde, M.; Baete, K.; Cocolios, T. E.; Duchemin, C.; Ooms, M.; Cleeren, F. Theranostics. 2024, 1720-1743.
  3. Weller, M.; ALbert, N. L.; Galldiks, N.; Bink, A.; Preusser, M.; Sulman, E. P.; Treyer, V.; Wen, P. Y.; Tonn, J. C.; Le Rhun, E. Neuro Oncol. 2024, S208-S214.