Production of 177Lu in No Carrier Added (NCA) form by Irradiation of Natural and Enriched Target in Tehran Research Reactor for Nuclear Medicine Approch

<p>177Lu owing to its favorable nuclidic characteristics, such as tl/2=6/73d  and Eβ(max)= 497 keV and ease of its large-scale production using medium flux research reactors, is an attractive radionuclide for various therapeutic applications. In this study 177Lu with  the radionuclide purity of  >99.9% was obtained by thermal neutron bombardment (4×1013n/cm2.s) of 176Yb target through the 176Yb(n,γ) 177Yb  177Lu process. The method of separation of 177Lu from macro amount of Yb target was based on extraction chromatographic (EXC). The extractant used in resin was di(2-ethylhexyl) orthophosphoric acid (HDEHP). Finally, (177Lu) with a specific activity of 230.1 MBq (6.22 mCi) was prepared without the addiation of any carrier radionuclide. The process provides a separation yield of 75% 177Lu and a decontamination factor of 2000. The whole process to prepare NCA 177Lu takes almost 1.5 hours. The resultant NCA 177Lu can be used for preparation of NCA 177Lu labeled radiotherapeuticals.</p><p> </p>