Production of [15O]water at low-energy proton cyclotrons

We report a simple system for producing [15O]H2O from 15N in a nitrogen/hydrogen gas target with recycling of the target nitrogen, allowing production on low-energy proton-only accelerators with minimal consumption of isotopically enriched 15N. The radiolabeled water is separated from the target gas and radiolytically produced ammonia by temporary freezing in a small trap at −40 °C.