Editing Synthetic radioisotope

{{Short description|Radioisotope that is man-made and is not found in nature}}
{{refimprove|date=July 2017}}
A '''synthetic radioisotope''' is a [[radionuclide]] that is not found in [[nature]]: no natural process or mechanism exists which produces it, or it is so unstable that it decays away in a very short period of time.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Libessart |first=Marion |title=Artificial Radioisotope |url=https://jhrreactor.com/en/faq-items/artificial-radioisotope/ |access-date=2024-09-05 |website=RJH - Jules Horowitz Reactor |language=en-GB}}</ref> Frédéric Joliot-Curie and Irène Joliot-Curie were the first to produce a synthetic radioisotope in the 20th century.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Libessart |first=Marion |title=Artificial Radioisotope |url=https://jhrreactor.com/en/faq-items/artificial-radioisotope/ |access-date=2024-09-05 |website=RJH - Jules Horowitz Reactor |language=en-GB}}</ref> Examples include [[Isotopes of technetium|technetium-98]] and [[Isotopes of promethium|promethium-146]]. Many of these are found in, and harvested from, [[spent nuclear fuel]] assemblies. Some must be manufactured in [[particle accelerator]]s.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-07-15 |title=Radioisotopes |url=https://www.iaea.org/topics/nuclear-science/isotopes/radioisotopes |access-date=2023-06-25 |website=www.iaea.org |language=en}}</ref> 

==Production==
Some synthetic radioisotopes are extracted from spent [[nuclear reactor]] fuel rods, which contain various [[fission products]]. For example, it is estimated that up to 1994, about 49,000 [[Becquerel|terabecquerels]] (78 [[tonne|metric ton]]s) of [[technetium]] were produced in nuclear reactors; as such, anthropogenic technetium is far more abundant than technetium from natural radioactivity.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Yoshihara|first1=K|editor1-last=Yoshihara|editor1-first=K|editor2-last=Omori|editor2-first=T|title=Technetium and Rhenium Their Chemistry and Its Applications|date=1996|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-3-540-59469-7|chapter=Technetium in the environment|series=Topics in Current Chemistry|volume=176|doi=10.1007/3-540-59469-8_2}}</ref>

Some synthetic isotopes are produced in significant quantities by fission but are not yet being reclaimed.  Other isotopes are manufactured by [[neutron]] irradiation of parent isotopes in a nuclear reactor (for example, technetium-97 can be made by neutron irradiation of [[Isotopes of ruthenium|ruthenium-96]]) or by bombarding parent isotopes with high energy particles from a particle accelerator.<ref>{{cite web|title=Radioisotope Production|url=http://www.bnl.gov/medical/Isotope_Distribution/Isodistoff.htm|publisher=Brookhaven National Laboratory|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100106040156/http://www.bnl.gov/medical/Isotope_Distribution/Isodistoff.htm|archive-date=6 January 2010|date=2009|url-status=bot: unknown}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Manual for reactor produced radioisotopes.|date=2003|publisher=IAEA|location=Vienna|isbn=92-0-101103-2|url=https://www-pub.iaea.org/books/IAEABooks/6407/Manual-for-Reactor-Produced-Radioisotopes}}</ref>

Many isotopes, including [[radiopharmaceutical]]s, are produced in [[cyclotron]]s. For example, the synthetic [[fluorine-18]] and [[oxygen-15]] are widely used in [[positron emission tomography]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Cyclotron Produced Radionuclides: Physical Characteristics and Production Methods|date=2009|publisher=IAEA|location=Vienna|isbn=978-92-0-106908-5|url=https://www-pub.iaea.org/books/iaeabooks/7892/Cyclotron-Produced-Radionuclides-Physical-Characteristics-and-Production-Methods}}</ref>

==Uses==
Most synthetic radioisotopes have a short [[half-life]]. Though a health hazard, radioactive materials have many medical and industrial uses.

===Nuclear medicine===
The field of [[nuclear medicine]] covers use of radioisotopes for diagnosis or treatment.

====Diagnosis====
Radioactive tracer compounds, [[radiopharmaceutical]]s, are used to observe the function of various organs and body systems. These compounds use a chemical tracer which is attracted to or concentrated by the activity which is being studied. That chemical tracer incorporates a short lived radioactive isotope, usually one which emits a [[gamma ray]] which is energetic enough to travel through the body and be captured outside by a [[gamma camera]] to map the concentrations. [[Gamma camera]]s and other similar detectors are highly efficient, and the tracer compounds are generally very effective at concentrating at the areas of interest, so the total amounts of radioactive material needed are very small.

The metastable [[nuclear isomer]] [[technetium-99m]] is a [[gamma-ray]] emitter widely used for medical diagnostics because it has a short half-life of 6 hours, but can be easily made in the hospital using a [[technetium-99m generator]]. Weekly global demand for the parent isotope [[Isotopes of molybdenum|molybdenum-99]] was {{convert|12000|Ci|TBq|lk=out|order=flip|abbr=on}} in 2010, overwhelmingly provided by fission of [[uranium-235]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Production and Supply of Molybdenum-99|url=https://www.iaea.org/About/Policy/GC/GC54/GC54InfDocuments/English/gc54inf-3-att7_en.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.iaea.org/About/Policy/GC/GC54/GC54InfDocuments/English/gc54inf-3-att7_en.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|publisher=IAEA|access-date=4 March 2018|date=2010}}</ref>

====Treatment====
Several radioisotopes and compounds are used for [[Unsealed source radiotherapy|medical treatment]], usually by bringing the radioactive isotope to a high concentration in the body near a particular organ. For example, [[iodine-131]] is used for treating some disorders and tumors of the [[thyroid]] gland.

===Industrial radiation sources===
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[[Alpha particle]], [[beta particle]], and [[gamma ray]] radioactive emissions are industrially useful. Most sources of these are synthetic radioisotopes. Areas of use include the [[Uses of radioactivity in oil and gas wells|petroleum industry]], [[industrial radiography]], [[homeland security]], [[process control]], [[food irradiation]] and underground detection.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Greenblatt|first1=Jack A.|title=Stable and Radioactive Isotopes: Industry & Trade Summary|url=https://www.usitc.gov/publications/332/ITS-1.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.usitc.gov/publications/332/ITS-1.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|website=Office of Industries|publisher=United States International Trade Commission|date=2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Rivard|first1=Mark J.|last2=Bobek|first2=Leo M.|last3=Butler|first3=Ralph A.|last4=Garland|first4=Marc A.|last5=Hill|first5=David J.|last6=Krieger|first6=Jeanne K.|last7=Muckerheide|first7=James B.|last8=Patton|first8=Brad D.|last9=Silberstein|first9=Edward B.|title=The US national isotope program: Current status and strategy for future success|journal=Applied Radiation and Isotopes|date=August 2005|volume=63|issue=2|pages=157–178|doi=10.1016/j.apradiso.2005.03.004|url=https://www.isotopes.gov/outreach/reports/Rivard.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.isotopes.gov/outreach/reports/Rivard.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Branch|first1=Doug|title=Radioactive Isotopes in Process Measurement|url=https://www.controlglobal.com/assets/12WPpdf/121105-vega-isotopes-measurement.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.controlglobal.com/assets/12WPpdf/121105-vega-isotopes-measurement.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|publisher=VEGA Controls|access-date=4 March 2018|date=2012}}</ref>

==Footnotes==
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==External links==
*[http://t2.lanl.gov/data/map.html Map of the Nuclides at LANL T-2 Website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040404142354/http://t2.lanl.gov/data/map.html |date=2004-04-04 }}

[[Category:Radioactivity]]
[[Category:Radiopharmaceuticals]]

[[af:Radio-aktiewe isotoop]]