Isotope Separation and Development

The radioisotope development in RRI is focused on the preparation of medically relevant radioisotopes such as 177Lu, 64Cu, 72As, 77As…for incorporation into radiopharmaceuticals useful for SPECT, PET imaging and endo-radiotherapy. New procedures are developed for the production of different radionuclides using the NMC 30 MeV cyclotron and the 2.1014 n.cm-2.s-1 thermal neutron flux OPAL reactor. Cyclotron targetry including the nuclear reaction yield calculations and optimisation of the target geometry and irradiation conditions are studied. The development of new targets for the production of different radioisotopes involves both liquid and solid target systems.

Radiochemical separation techniques, including ion-exchange and solid phase extraction chromatography as well as HPLC techniques with on-line radioactive detectors are commonly used for the separation of useful radioisotopes from reactor neutron or cyclotron proton activated targets. Gamma ray spectrometry with High Purity Ge detector, thin layer chromatography with Radio-TLC scanning and ICP-MS are the main methods and instruments for the radiochemical analysis and quality control processes.