High radioactive concentration of 99mTc from a zirconium [99Mo]molybdate gel generator using an acidic alumina column for purification and concentration.

Abstract

Newer applications of radiopharmaceuticals in nuclear medicine require pertechnetate of moderate to high radioactive concentration. Hence there is a need to develop simple procedures for the concentration of pertechnetate, and such a procedure is given in this paper. Ten to 20 ml of sodium [Tc]pertechnetate eluted in de-ionized water from a zirconium [Mo]molybdate (ZrMo) gel column generator was passed through 2 g of an acidic alumina bed (35 x 8 mm) in order to remove the co-eluted traces of Mo and to retain the pertechnetate. The retained pertechnetate was then re-eluted, quantitatively, in 3 ml of normal saline, from the alumina column. About a 4-fold increase in radioactive concentration of Tc was obtained (cf. approximately 10-12 ml normal saline is required for the elution of Tc from the gel column). Generators containing up to 22.2 GBq (600 mCi) Mo in 6-7 g ZrMo gel column (35 x 13 mm) were prepared and a radioactive concentration of Tc up to 4 GBq x ml (110 mCi x ml) was obtained on the first day of use. The overall recovery of Tc was >90%, Mo breakthrough was 10 to 10% and the duration of concentration was 3-5 min. The chemical impurity in terms of Al, Mo and Zr was <10 ppm each. The same procedure for the concentration of pertechnetate was applied to generators with 12-15 g ZrMo gel beds to obtain a higher capacity Tc gel generator, with similar findings.