The ENEA TRIGA RC-1 facility inside the SECURE project: Production of medical isotopes by neutron activation

¹ ENEA, NUC-IRAD-CRGR, Nuclear Material Characterization Laboratory and Nuclear Waste Management
² ENEA, NUC-IRAD-RNR, Research Nuclear Reactor Laboratory
³ ENEA, NUC-INMRI, National Institute of Ionizing Radiation Metrology, ENEA Casaccia Research Centre, Via Anguillarese 301, 00123 Rome, Italy

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Published online: 6 November 2025

Abstract

TRIGA (Training, Research, and Isotope production General Atomics) facilities are research reactors extensively used for neutron activation analyses and various neutron-related experiments and applications.

Neutron fluxes in TRIGA reactors can be employed for radionuclide production through techniques such as Neutron Activation Analysis (NAA), enabling the generation of radioactive sources for technical applications and the production of medical isotopes. In this process, a non-radioactive material is exposed to neutrons, resulting in the generation of radioactive nuclei.

The ENEA TRIGA RC-1 reactor is involved in the EU-funded SECURE Project (HORIZON-EURATOM-2021-NRT-01 call, Strengthening the European Chain of sUpply for next generation medical RadionuclidEs, October 2022-September 2025), which aims to explore the feasibility of local radionuclide production for medical applications in Europe, including both currently established and innovative ways. Specifically, the ENEA team investigated the potential to produce terbium-161 (¹⁶¹Tb), an isotope that shows promise for targeted radionuclide therapy and may offer advantages over lutetium-177 (¹⁷⁷Lu), which is currently used in cancer treatment. ¹⁶¹Tb production exploits the reaction channel ¹⁶⁰Gd(n,γ)¹⁶¹Gd(β⁻)¹⁶¹Tb, involving the neutron activation of a gadolinium (Gd) target that is highly enriched (more than 98%) in gadolinium-160 (¹⁶⁰Gd). After the appropriate chemical processes, both ¹⁶¹Tb (the raw radionuclide precursor for radiopharmaceuticals used in cancer therapy) and ¹⁶⁰Gd oxide (which can be reused for future irradiation cycles) are extracted and purified.