New isotope production methods such as isotope harvesting are being developed in the field of nuclear chemistry to meet the growing demand for radionuclides. This method utilizes unreacted, accelerated beams from nuclear science facilities like the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory (NSCL) and, in the future, at the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB). Ongoing experiments at the NSCL have allowed for the development of both a flowing-water target, where radionuclides are produced in the water interior, and an attached water system, where radionuclides of interest are collected for off-line experiments. Using an accelerated 48Ca beam at the NSCL, the production of 47Ca in the water target as well as techniques for collection and purification of this radionuclide have been demonstrated to produce a 47Ca/47Sc generator. The 47Sc daughter from this generator has therapeutic uses in targeted internal radiotherapy. High-purity 47Sc generated from isotope-harvested 47Ca has been used in radiolabeling experiments to demonstrate the production of radiopharmaceuticals that are suitable for preclinical studies through isotope harvesting. Through this series of experiments, techniques have been optimized for harvesting aqueous-phase radionuclides and the feasibility of using these radionuclides for further applications has been demonstrated.
