New Trends in the Automation of Solid Target Dissolution for Radionuclide Production: A Universal Target Dissolution System for Cassette-Based Radiosynthesis Modules

The first fundamental step of the radiochemical processing of solid targets is target dissolution, which is generally performed with commercial or homemade modules separate from the subsequent purification/radiolabeling operations. Instead, a flexible solid target dissolution system, which can be easily mounted on commercial cassette-based synthesis modules, would enable the integration of target processing and radio-pharmaceutical synthesis, all within a single module. In this chapter, an overview of solid target dissolution systems, both available on the market and developed for research purposes, is included. In addition, a flexible concept of a solid target dissolution system, which relies on an open-bottomed vial positioned upon a target coin, will be presented as an alternative to commercially available modules. The concept exploits the synthesis module’s movement mechanism of syringe pumps to move the vial up and down on the target and uses the heater/cooler reactor of the module as the target holder. In this way, all the radiochemical processing can be remotely controlled and incorporated in a single cassette manifold, along with the purification and radiolabeling stages. Such an innovative construct would pave the way to a new approach in the design of solid target dissolution systems.