S.P Che gini - Iran polymer and petr ochemical Institute, Tehran, Iran
P Sho krollahi - Iran polymer and petr ochemical Institute, Tehran, Iran
M ZANDI - Iran polymer and petr ochemical Institute, Tehran, Iran
M IMANI - Iran polymer and petr ochemical Institute, Tehran, Iran

Brachytherapy is a therapeutic c hoice in different canc er types e.g., cervical, p rostate, breast, skin cancer, etc to using ȕ-emitting radioisotope s ource[۱]. Radioisotope source must be dispersed within a matrix or trapped inside ligands forming a complex str ucture to prevent its lea kage into biological milieu[۲]. Holmium (Ho) as a commonly u sed brachytherapeutic candidate has a relative ly short half life and can be used as hydrated chloride or nitrate salts. Metal-ligand co mplexes but it needs dry, extr a pure starting materials [۳]. Here, we report on water of h ydration in hydrated Ho nitrate and opti mal heating program ne eded for its thermal drying. The effect of drying atmosphere on the thermal d ecompositi on of the material is also reported.

Holmium nitrate, Brachytherapy, thermal drying, holmiu m decompos ition