Actinium-225

Actinium-225 has a half-life of 10 days and decays by alpha emission. It is part of the neptunium series, for it arises as a decay product of neptunium-237 and its daughters such as uranium-233 and thorium-229. It is the last nuclide in the chain with a half-life over a day until the penultimate product, bismuth-209 (half-life 2.01×10¹⁹ years).[1] The final decay product of ²²⁵Ac is stable ²⁰⁵Tl.

As a member of the neptunium series, it does not occur in nature except as a product of trace quantities of ²³⁷Np and its daughters formed by neutron capture reactions on primordial ²³²Th and ²³⁸U.[2] It is much rarer than ²²⁷Ac and ²²⁸Ac, which respectively occur in the decay chains of uranium-235 and thorium-232. Its abundance was estimated as less than 1.1×10⁻¹⁹ relative to ²³²Th and around 9.9×10⁻¹⁶ relative to ²³⁰Th in secular equilibrium.[2]

Actinium-225 was discovered in 1947 as part of the hitherto unknown neptunium series, which was populated by the synthesis of ²³³U.[3] A team of physicists from Argonne National Laboratory led by F. Hagemann initially reported the discovery of ²²⁵Ac and identified its 10-day half-life.[4] Independently, a Canadian group led by A. C. English identified the same decay scheme; both papers were published in the same issue of Physical Review.[3][5][6]

As ²²⁵Ac does not occur in any appreciable quantities in nature, it must be synthesized in specialized nuclear reactors. The majority of ²²⁵Ac results from the alpha decay of ²²⁹Th, but this supply is limited because the decay of ²²⁹Th (half-life 7340 years) is relatively slow due to its relatively long half-life.[7] It is also possible to breed ²²⁵Ac from radium-226 in the ²²⁶Ra(p,2n) reaction. The potential to populate ²²⁵Ac using a ²²⁶Ra target was first demonstrated in 2005, though the production and handling of ²²⁶Ra are difficult because of the respective cost of extraction and hazards of decay products such as radon-222.[7]

Alternatively, ²²⁵Ac can be produced in spallation reactions on a ²³²Th target irradiated with high-energy proton beams.[8] Current techniques enable the production of millicurie quantities of ²²⁵Ac; however, it must then be separated from other reaction products.[9] This is done by allowing some of the shorter-lived nuclides to decay; actinium isotopes are then chemically purified in hot cells and ²²⁵Ac is concentrated. Special care must be taken to avoid contamination with the longer-lived beta-emitting actinium-227.[8]

For decades, most ²²⁵Ac was produced in one facility—the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee—further reducing this isotope's availability even with smaller contributions from other laboratories.[8] Additional ²²⁵Ac is now produced from ²³²Th at Los Alamos National Laboratory and Brookhaven National Laboratory.[10] The TRIUMF facility and Canadian Nuclear Laboratories have formed a strategic partnership around the commercial production of actinium-225.[11]

The low supply of ²²⁵Ac limits its use in research and cancer treatment. It is estimated that the current supply of ²²⁵Ac only allows about a thousand cancer treatments per year.[7][12]

Alpha emitters such as actinium-225 are favored in cancer treatment because of the short range (a few cell diameters) of alpha particles in tissue and their high energy, rendering them highly effective in targeting and killing cancer cells—specifically, alpha particles are more effective at breaking DNA strands. The 10-day half-life of ²²⁵Ac is long enough to facilitate treatment, but short enough that little remains in the body months after treatment.[10] This contrasts with the similarly investigated ²¹³Bi, whose 46-minute half-life necessitates in situ generation and immediate use. Additionally, ²²⁵Ac has a median lethal dose several orders of magnitude greater than ²¹³Bi because of its longer half-life and subsequent alpha emissions from its decay products. Each decay of ²²⁵Ac to ²⁰⁹Bi nets four high-energy alpha particles, greatly increasing its potency.[10][13]

Despite its limited availability, several clinical trials have been completed, demonstrating the effectiveness of ²²⁵Ac in targeted alpha therapy.[8][13] Complexes including ²²⁵Ac—such as antibodies labeled with ²²⁵Ac—have been tested to target various types of cancer, including leukemia, prostate carcinoma, and breast carcinoma in humans.[13] For example, one experimental ²²⁵Ac-based drug has shown effectiveness against acute myeloid leukemia without harming the patient. Further clinical trials of other drugs are underway.[10]

• Isotopes of actinium
• Radium-223