Practicality of tetragonal nano-zirconia as a prospective sorbent in the preparation of ~(99)Mo/~(99m)Tc generator for biomedical applications

摘要

The feasibility of using tetragonal nano-zirconia (t-ZrO_2) as an effective sorbent for developing a ~(99)Mo/~(99m)Tc chromatographic generator was demonstrated. The structural characteristics of the sorbent matrix were investigated by different analytical techniques such as XRD, BET surface area analysis, FT-IR, TEM etc. The material synthesized was nanocrystalline, in tetragonal phase with an average particle size of ~7 nm and a large surface area of 340 m~2 g~(-1). The equilibrium sorption capacity of t-ZrO_2 is >250 mg Mo g~(-1). The present study indicates that ~(99)Mo is both strongly and selectively retained by t-ZrO_2 at acidic pH and ~(99m)Tc could be readily eluted from it, using 0.9% NaCl solution. A 9.25 GBq (250 mCi) t-ZrO _2 based chromatographic ~(99)Mo/~(99m)Tc generator was developed and its performance was repeatedly evaluated for 10 days. ~(99m)Tc could be eluted with >85% yield having acceptable radionuclidic, radiochemical and chemical purity for clinical applications. The compatibility of the product in the preparation of ~(99m)Tc labeled formulations such as ~(99m)Tc-EC and ~(99m)Tc-DMSA was evaluated and found to be satisfactory.