Title:Electrochemical Separation is an Attractive Strategy for Development of Radionuclide Generators for Medical Applications
Volume: 5
Issue: 3
Author(s): Rubel Chakravarty, Ashutosh Dash and M. R.A. Pillai
Affiliation:
Keywords:
Electrochemical separation, No-carrier-added, Radionuclide generator, 99Mo/99mTc generator, 90Sr/90Y generator,
188W/188Re generator, radioisotope, Electrochemical generator, radiopharmacy, HEU
Abstract: Electrochemical separation techniques are not widely used in radionuclide generator technology and only a few
studies have been reported [1-4]. Nevertheless, this strategy is useful when other parent-daughter separation techniques
are not effective or not possible. Such situations are frequent when low specific activity (LSA) parent radionuclides are
used for instance with adsorption chromatographic separations, which can result in lower concentration of the daughter
radionuclide in the eluent. In addition, radiation instability of the column matrix in many cases can affect the performance
of the generator when long lived parent radionuclides are used. Intricate knowledge of the chemistry involved in the electrochemical
separation is crucial to develop a reproducible technology that ensures that the pure daughter radionuclide can
be obtained in a reasonable time of operation. Crucial parameters to be critically optimized include the applied potential,
choice of electrolyte, selection of electrodes, temperature of electrolyte bath and the time of electrolysis in order to ensure
that the daughter radionuclide can be reproducibly recovered in high yields and high purity. The successful electrochemical
generator technologies which have been developed and are discussed in this paper include the 90Sr/90Y, 188W/188Re and
99Mo/99mTc generators. Electrochemical separation not only acts as a separation technique but also is an effective concentration
methodology which yields high radioactive concentrations of the daughter products. The lower consumption of
reagents and minimal generation of radioactive wastes using such electrochemical techniques are compatible with ‘green
chemistry’ principles.
