Radioisotope research at the Birmingham accelerator facilities

Abstract The University of Birmingham has operated several cyclotrons since the 1940 s and the current machine, a Scanditronix MC40, is the workhorse of a vibrant and diverse research programme. In December 2023, a new High Flux Accelerator-Driven Neutron Facility (HF-ADNeF) was commissioned, capable of producing up to $$1{\times }10^{14}$$ 1 × 10 14 neutrons/s. The Cyclotron facility has long been exploited for research into radioisotopes for a large variety of applications — as well as producing imaging isotopes daily for the National Health Service — but over the last two years this research has ramped up with studies focused on novel medical radionuclides such as $$^{124}\textrm{I}$$ 124 I , $$^{211}\textrm{At}$$ 211 At , $$^{225}\textrm{Ac}$$ 225 Ac and many more. With the addition of high-flux neutron beams, previously out-of-reach neutron-rich isotopes can also be produced using ( n , γ), ( n , 2 n ) and ( n , p ) reactions. An overview of radioisotope work at Birmingham will be given.