Targeted Infusion Project: Development of a Nuclear Science Facility for Training of Undergraduate Students in Critical Skills for National Need

历史上的黑人学院和大学本科项目（HBCU- up）通过有针对性的输液项目，支持基于证据的创新模式和方法的开发、实施和研究，以提高HBCU本科生的准备和成功，使他们可以攻读STEM研究生课程和/或职业。北卡罗来纳中央大学（NCCU）打算加强其核科学能力，以便在培养该领域本科生的同时进行创新研究。项目成果可应用于核医学和支持跨学科STEM研究。此外，该项目还为STEM领域中代表性不足的群体培养更多学者提供了机会。该项目的成功实施将为同行机构的其他类似项目树立榜样。总体目标是建立一个低能量的核加速器设施，以提高科学研究能力，扩大科学和工程培训。该项目的具体目标是：(1)建立促进跨学科研究的设施；(2)对本科学生进行核科学强化技能和辅助技能培训；(3)发展医用放射性同位素生产和研究的研究能力。医学诊断和治疗中使用的放射性同位素通常是在核反应堆或回旋加速器中产生的。医疗需要最常用的放射性同位素是锝-99m （99mTc，锝元素的一种亚稳定同位素）。目前正在研究生产99mTc的新方法，包括由粒子入射到长寿命的钼同位素100Mo上引发的反应。这项工作的重点是开发使用低能量粒子加速器的技术，这种加速器可以产生高达100万伏特（1兆电子伏）的粒子束，产生99mTc。我们感兴趣的反应包括用中子束轰击一个100Mo的原子核，并从目标（n + 100Mo±99Mo + 2n）中射出两个中子，把它变成99Mo（少一个中子）。99Mo是一种不稳定的同位素，它会衰变为所需的同位素99mTc，半衰期为67小时。然而，这种反应要求入射中子的电压在1200万到1700万电子伏特之间。由于我们的低能加速器只能产生高达1兆电子伏特的光束，所需的中子是通过二次反应产生的，其中氚靶（最重的氢同位素）被低能（小于1兆电子伏特）较轻的氢同位素氘轰击。这个反应反过来又产生中子，这些中子可以用来进一步生产99Mo/99mTc同位素。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The Historically Black Colleges and Universities Undergraduate Program (HBCU-UP), through Targeted Infusion Projects, supports the development, implementation, and study of evidence-based innovative models and approaches for improving the preparation and success of HBCU undergraduate students so that they may pursue STEM graduate programs and/or careers. North Carolina Central University (NCCU) intends to enhance its nuclear science capabilities for the purpose of producing innovative research while training undergraduates in the field. Results from the project may have application in nuclear medicine and support interdisciplinary STEM research. Furthermore, the project provides the opportunity to prepare more scholars from underrepresented groups in STEM fields. Successful implementation of the project will establish a model for other analogous programs at peer institutions.The overall goal is to establish a low-energy nuclear accelerator facility to enhance scientific research capabilities and expand science and engineering training at NCCU. The specific goals of the project are to (1) establish the facility to foster interdisciplinary research; (2) provide intensive skills and ancillary skills training in nuclear science to undergraduates, and (3) develop research capabilities in the production and study of medical radioisotopes. The radioisotopes used in the medical diagnosis and treatment are typically produced in nuclear reactors or with a cyclotron. The most commonly used radioisotope for medical needs is technetium-99m (99mTc, a meta-stable isotope of element technetium). Novel methods to produce 99mTc are being investigated, including reactions initiated by particles incident on long-lived molybdenum isotope, 100Mo. This work will focus on development of technology to use low-energy particle accelerator which can produce particle beams up to 1 million-volt, or 1 MeV to produce 99mTc. The reaction of interest involves transforming a 100Mo nucleus into 99Mo (one less neutron) by bombarding it with a neutron beam and ejecting two neutrons from the target (n + 100Mo  99Mo + 2n). The 99Mo is an unstable isotope and decays into the desired isotope 99mTc with a half-life of 67 hours. However, this reaction requires the incident neutron to be between 12 and 17 million-electron-volts. As our low-energy accelerator can only produce beams up to 1 MeV, the desired neutrons are produced using a secondary reaction in which a tritium target (heaviest isotope of hydrogen) is bombarded with a low-energy (less than 1 MeV) lighter isotope of hydrogen, deuterium. This reaction in turn produces neutrons which can be used to further produce 99Mo/99mTc isotopes.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.