Associate Professor Engineer Renata Mikołajczak (POLATOM@NCBJ) joined the International Scientific Committee of ARRONAX institute in France. Institute, the name of which is an abbreviation of Accelerator for Research in Radiochemistry and Oncology at Nantes Atlantic possesses a cyclotron with energy up to 70 MeV used mainly for production of strontium-82, as well as germanium-68 and astatine-211. Experience in production of the last of these isotopes can be very valuable for cyclotron CERAD constructed in Świerk.

Main area of interest on ARRONAX institute is research on production of innovative radionuclides for nuclear medicine and for radiochemical research, especially researching the effect of radiation on cells and organisms. The facility welcomes projects from all interested academic laboratories in Europe, as well as projects from industrial partners. All the projects are being evaluated by an international scientific committee. First seating of the Committee with the membership of Professor Mikołajczak has just been held in Nantes during 28^th–29^th November 2018.

The name ARRONAX is also a reference to Professor Aronnax – a character in „Twenty thousand leagues under the sea” by Jules Verne, who was born in Nantes.

Additional information

The before-mentioned project CERAD is conducted by consortium with the Applicant – National Centre for Nuclear Research (NCBJ) – Consortium Leader and only beneficiary and consortium members – University of Warsaw, Institute of Nuclear Chemistry and Technology, Medical University of Warsaw, Jagiellonian University Medical College and Medical University of Białystok.

The project aims to create modern research infrastructure for searching new radiopharmaceuticals for diagnostics and therapy, based on biologically active ligands acting on cellular and molecular level. Combination of isotope techniques with molecular markers of medical condition will allow for earlier detection of diseases and implementation of appropriate therapeutic procedures. The most important equipment of CERAD laboratory will be a cyclotron, accelerating protons, deuterium nuclei and alpha particles to energy up to 30 MeV (15 MeV for deuterium).