Preparation of186Re and188Re with high specific activity by the Szilard-Chalmers effect

Abstract

186 Re and 188 Re are regarded as the best radionuclides used for radiotherapy and radioimmumotherapy. We are attempting to prepare 186 Re and 188 Re with high specific activity by the Szilard-Chalmers effect. A series of rheniun complexes were synthesized and then irradiated with thermal neutrons (neutron flux: 10 12 n/sec/cm 2 ) for 1 hour. The recoiled radioactive rhenium atoms were separated from the target by stripping the dichloromethane solution of irradiated rhenium compound with an aqueous solution. Various aqueous stripping agents were tested. In the case of ReN(S 2 CNEt 2 ) 2 , an enrichment factor of 210 and a chemical yield of 36% were achieved. The product was in pure perrhenate form with specific activity of 0.72 GBq/mg Re (19.5 mCi/mg Re).