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Astatine

Astatine is the rarest naturally occurring element in earth’s crust. At any given time, there is estimated to be less than 30 grams of astatine present in the entire earth’s crust. Astatine is extremely unstable and radioactive. Its most stable isotope, astatine-210, has a half-life of only 8.1 hours. Its name comes from the Greek word “astatos” meaning unstable.

Despite its rarity and instability, astatine-211 shows promise in nuclear medicine, particularly for targeted alpha-particle therapy in cancer treatment.  Its potential lies in its ability to deliver highly localized radiation to cancer cells while minimizing damage to surrounding healthy tissue.