The present disclosure provides a self-contained system that contains a plurality of target cartridges, automatically inserts a selected target cartridge into position for irradiation, advances a foil to facilitate irradiation over the target chamber, replaces the foil for additional irradiation (if desired), serves as a dissolution cell for retrieval of the irradiated material, removes the used target cartridge and inserts a new cartridge for subsequent cycles of operation. Consequently, only the dissolved target material and dissolution medium are transferred between the target system and any post processing cells/labs. Accordingly, a system is disclosed for processing a target material without disturbance to irradiated material (thereby eliminating risk of impurities) and without requiring manual access/intervention (thereby eliminating risk of exposure).