Simple and efficient method for producing high radionuclidic purity ¹¹¹In using enriched ¹¹²Cd target.

Area of Science:

• Nuclear Chemistry
• Radiochemistry
• Medical Isotope Production

Background:

• High radionuclidic purity of medical isotopes is crucial for diagnostic and therapeutic applications.
• Current methods for producing Indium-111 (¹¹¹In) may face challenges in purity or efficiency.
• Development of cost-effective and reliable production pathways for radioisotopes is an ongoing need.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a simple and efficient method for producing high radionuclidic purity ¹¹¹In.
• To optimize the purification process for ¹¹¹In.
• To explore the recovery of the enriched ¹¹²Cd target material.

Main Methods:

• Bombardment of an enriched ¹¹²Cd metal target (produced via cyanide-free electroplating) with 21 MeV protons.
• Purification of ¹¹¹In using CL-P204 cation exchange resin.
• Measurement of ¹¹¹In yield and impurity levels.
• Development of a chemical procedure for ¹¹²Cd recovery.

Main Results:

• Achieved high radionuclidic purity of ¹¹¹In (99.9%) with low impurity concentration (<1.2 ppm).
• Extracted 98% of ¹¹¹In in less than 1 hour using cation exchange chromatography.
• Measured a yield of 222 ± 5 MBq/μA∙h for ¹¹¹In via the ¹¹²Cd (p, 2n) ¹¹¹In reaction.
• Recovered unreacted ¹¹²Cd with a recovery rate of 96.6%.

Conclusions:

• The developed method provides a simple, efficient, and scalable route for producing high-purity ¹¹¹In.
• The purification scheme using CL-P204 cation exchange resin is effective and rapid.
• The ability to recover ¹¹²Cd enhances the economic viability of the process.