An electro amalgamation procedure for separate no carrier added Lu177 fromYb target for biomedical applications

Owing to its favorable radionuclides characteristics, such as tl/2 = 6/73 day and Eβ (max) = 497 keVand ease of its large-scale production using medium flux research reactors, 177Lu is an attractiveradionuclide for various therapeutic applications. A two-step separation process for the productionof no-carrier-added (NCA) 177Lu from neutron irradiated Yb target through an electrochemicalpathway employing mercury-pool cathode has been developed.MethodsA two-cycle electrolysis procedure was considered for separation of 177Lu from 177Lu/Yb mixturein lithium citrate medium. The effects of different experimental parameters on the separationprocess was investigated and optimized for the quantitative deposition of Yb in presence of 177Lu.The first electrolysis was performed for45 min in the 177Lu/Yb feed solution at pH 7 applying apotential of 10 V using platinum electrode as anode and mercury as the cathode. The secondelectrolysis was performed under the same conditions using fresh electrodes. 177Lu has beenpurified from citrate lithium electrolyte by exchange chromatography column. The suitability of177Lu for biomedical applications was ascertained by labeling tetra phenyl porphyrin (TPP) with177Lu.ResultsIn this study 177Lu with > 99.9% radionuclide purity and an overall separation yield of 85% wasobtained within 2–3 h. The Li content in the final product was determined to be <1 ppm.Radiolabeling yield of 98% was obtained with TPP under the optimized reaction conditions.ConclusionsAn efficient strategy for the separation of NCA 177Lu, suitable for biomedical applications, hasbeen developed.