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Media Contacts
![Seeing the difference Ac-225 could make to cancer patients made Raina Setzer want to come to ORNL to directly work with the isotope. Credit: Allison Peacock/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-11/rs_0.jpg?h=71976bb4&itok=nFsgqwUT)
Raina Setzer knows the work she does matters. That’s because she’s already seen it from the other side. Setzer, a radiochemical processing technician in Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Isotope Processing and Manufacturing Division, joined the lab in June 2023.
![An illustration shows how the composite is pressed into a seamless aluminum liner, which is then sealed with an aluminum powder cap. The research is sponsored by the DOE Isotope Program. Credit: Chris Orosco/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-06/RadiumTargetIllustration_0.png?h=cba57ff2&itok=Hhq-h9v8)
Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers have developed a method to simplify one step of radioisotope production — and it’s faster and safer.
![Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory probed the chemistry of radium to gain key insights on advancing cancer treatments using radiation therapy. Credit: Adam Malin/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-09/radium_0.jpg?h=dbdf53bf&itok=dMlhyVKO)
Researchers at ORNL explored radium’s chemistry to advance cancer treatments using ionizing radiation.
![Summer Widner, Stephanie Timbs, James Gaugler and James Avenell of ORNL are part of a team that processes thorium-228, a byproduct of actinium-227. As new uses for thorium are realized, particularly in medicine, the lab expects the demand for the radioisotope to grow.](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2021-08/Part%20of%20Th-228%20Team_1.jpg?h=09b6d1d3&itok=1_l1hx2l)
As a medical isotope, thorium-228 has a lot of potential — and Oak Ridge National Laboratory produces a lot.
![Targeted alpha therapy can deliver radiation to specific cells, with minimal effect on surrounding, healthy cells. Credit: Michelle Lehman and Jaimee Janiga/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2021-03/gif_high_res.gif?h=ae1281eb&itok=QtNBjm3O)
A rare isotope in high demand for treating cancer is now more available to pharmaceutical companies developing and testing new drugs.
![Sandra Davern performs cell based assays to evaluate cell death and DNA damage in response to radiation in order to gain a better understanding of how radioisotope nanoparticles affect the human body.](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2020-10/2020-P15712.jpg?h=036a71b7&itok=6cpxN4v2)
When Sandra Davern looks to the future, she sees individualized isotopes sent into the body with a specific target: cancer cells.
![Solid radium sulfate sits in the bottom of a flask during the recovery process. Credit: Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2020-06/Ac227%202.jpg?h=479d286c&itok=AiNceGva)
Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers have discovered a better way to separate actinium-227, a rare isotope essential for an FDA-approved cancer treatment.
![Radiochemical technicians David Denton and Karen Murphy use hot cell manipulators at Oak Ridge National Laboratory during the production of actinium-227. Radiochemical technicians David Denton and Karen Murphy use hot cell manipulators at Oak Ridge National Laboratory during the production of actinium-227.](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2016-P07827%5B1%5D.jpg?itok=yJbnFQLU)
The Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory is now producing actinium-227 (Ac-227) to meet projected demand for a highly effective cancer drug through a 10-year contract between the U.S. DOE Isotope Program and Bayer.