Separation of Carrier-Free <sup>99m</sup> Tc from <sup>99</sup> Mo and <sup>144</sup> Pr from <sup>144</sup> Ce over a Column of Zirconium Arsenate
Annotatsiya
Abstract Carrier-free 99mTc and 144Pr activities were separated from 99Mo and 144Ce, respectively, by using simple chemical procedures and a column of zirconium arsenate. A crystalline variety of zirconium arsenate was prepared by mixing a proportionate quantity of sodium arsenate solution in water with a solution of zirconium oxychloride in 2N HCl at 70°C. The ratio of zirconium:arsenate was 1:2. γ-Ray spectra of the separated 99mTc, and β-decay studies of 144Pr showed that both were of high radionuclidic purity. The overall separation processes were simple, clean, and in each case required less than half an hour, with quantitative yield. After separation, the daughter activities were allowed to form in the column, so that it was possible to obtain these freshly formed species by eluting the column with suitable reagents.