Africa, Gracielle M.

CPC Section B

1. Describe the different methods of production of radionuclides and discuss the merits and
disadvantages of each method.

Radionuclide production In general ways of manufacturing radionuclides for use in radiopharmaceutical

preparations are:

Nuclear fission Nuclides with high atomic number are fissionable and a common reaction is the fission of uranium-
235 by neutrons in a nuclear reactor. For example, iodine-131, molybdenum-99 and xenon-133 can be produced in
this way. Radionuclides from such a process must be carefully controlled in order to minimize the radionuclides
impurities.

Charged particle bombardment Radionuclides may be produced by bombarding target materials with charged
particles in particle accelerators such as cyclotrons.

Neutron bombardment Radionuclides may be produced by bombarding target materials with neutrons in nuclear
reactors . The desired nuclear reaction will be influenced by the energy of the incident particle and by the isotopic

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composition and purity of the target material.

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Radionuclide generator systems Radionuclides of short half-life may be produced by means of a radionuclide

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generator system involving separation of the daughter radionuclide from a long-lived parent by chemical or physical
separation.

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Cyclotron Produced Radionuclides. Cyclotrons are used to accelerate subnuclear ions to high energy levels. The
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beam of accelerated particles is directed onto target material to cause nuclear reaction necessary to create
radionuclide. The particles must have sufficient energy (10-20+MeV) to overcome coulombic forces of target nuclei.
Cyclotrons produce smaller quantities of activity and some tracers have short half-life and difficult to store and
deliver.
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2. If 127 I is irradiated with protons in a cyclotron and three neutrons are emitted from the nucleus, what is the
product of the nuclear reaction? Write the nuclear reaction.
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3. In fission, how many neutrons are emitted and what is their average energy? What is the average energy released
in fission?
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During fission, a large nucleus is split into two medium-sized nuclei. Then at the same time, releases neutrons ( n)
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and energy. In a nuclear power plant, they uses about 2 kg uranium-235 to generate 1000 megawatts of electricity
and per fission of 235U it emits 2.5 neutrons.

4. Why are cadmium rods and graphite used in the reactor?

Cadmium rod and graphite are used as control rods. Control rods are used to absorb neutrons in order to control the
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rate of fission. They are moved into or out of the reactor core to reduce or increase the rate of fissioning.
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5. Outline the procedure for separating 131I and 99Mo from the fission products of 235U.
a. 235U is dissolved in 18% NaOH by heating, and hydroxides of many metal ions are precipitated by
cooling
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b. The supernatant containing sodium iodide is acidified with sulfuric acid in a closed distillation system.
c. . Iodide is oxidized to iodine by the acid, and iodine is collected in a NaOH solution by distillation.

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 6. Describe the principles of a radionuclide generator.

A generator is constructed on the principle of the decay-growth relationship between a long-lived parent
radionuclide and its short-lived daughter radionuclide. The chemical property of the daughter nuclide must be
distinctly different from that of the parent nuclide so that the former can be readily separated. In a generator,
basically a long-lived parent nuclide is allowed to decay to its short-lived daughter nuclide and the latter is then
chemically separated. The importance of radionuclide generators lies in the fact that they are easily transportable and
serve as sources of short-lived radionuclides in institutions far from the site of a cyclotron or reactor facility.

7. List the ideal characteristics of a radionuclide generator.

a. A radionuclide generator must be sterile and pyrogen-free. The generator system may be sterilized
either by autoclaving the entire column or by preparing it from sterile materials under aseptic
conditions. Often, bacteriostatic agents are added to the generator column to maintain sterility or a
membrane filter unit is attached to the end of the column. Elution or ‘‘milking’’ of the generator is
carried out under aseptic conditions.
b. An ideal radionuclide generator should be simple, convenient, rapid to use, and give a high yield of the
daughter nuclide repeatedly and reproducibly. It should be properly shielded to minimize radiation
exposure, and sturdy and compact for shipping. The generator eluate should be free from the parent

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radionuclide and the adsorbent material. Other extraneous radio- active contaminants should be absent

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in the eluate. The daughter nuclide should decay to a stable or very long-lived nuclide so that the

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radiation dose to the patient is minimal. Even though the parent activity may be eluted in an extremely

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small quantity, the radiation dose to the patient may become appreciable if it has a long effective half-
life.

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8. Radionuclide Generators
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Radionuclide generator separates a daughter nuclide from its parent.
Sr-82 / Rb-82 Generator Sr-82 is the parent, Tp 25 days, produced by cyclotron

Rb-82 is the daughter, Tp is 75 seconds

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secular equilibrium occurs in 525 sec or 8.8 min

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(allow 10 min between elutions)

Used for PET cardiac version of the myocardial

perfusion imaging
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Ge-68 / Ga-68 generator parent is Ge-68

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Tp is 271 days

daughter is Ga-68
Tp is about 70 min with a 511 Kev positron
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uses ion exchange

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88% of Ge-68 decays to Ga-68

Mo99/Tc99m generator parent- Mo99 (67hr Tp, 740/780 KeV gamma)

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daughter- Tc99m (6 hr Tp, 140 KeV gamma)

Uses an ion exchange column

alumina is the ion

87% of Mo99 decays to Tc-99m

13% decays to Tc99

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 113 113m 113Sn has a half-life of 117 days and decays by
Sn– In Generator
electron capture

daughter 113mIn decays by 393-keV isomeric

transition with a half-life of 100 min

The generator has a long shelf life due to the long half-
life of 113Sn

9. Describe in detail the construction of a Moly generator. What are the common radionuclide
contaminants in this generator?
The 99Mo–99mTc or ‘‘Moly’’ generator is constructed with alumina (Al2O3) loaded in a plastic or glass column.
The amount of alumina used is of the order of 5 to 10 g, depending on the total activity of 99Mo. Mo99 stays on the
column because it is bound to alumina as aluminum molybdate. Tc99 reacts with saline to form Na-Tc-99m-04,
sodium pertechnetate. The activity on generator is calibrated for Mo-99. Then the generator yield usually 80-90% of

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87% (70-80% of total activity). The radiochemical impurities of the 99mTc eluate are different chemical forms of
radioactivity other than 99mTcO4 . These impurities should be

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checked by suitable analytical methods.

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