A novel electrochemical 99Mo/99mTc generator

A novel electrochemical process to avail clinical grade Tc-99m from (n,gamma)Mo-99 has been demonstrated. The electrochemical parameters were optimized to maximize the Tc-99m yield with minimal Mo-99 contamination. Mo-99/Tc-99m generators containing up to 29.6 GBq (800 mCi) Mo-99 were developed and their performance were extensively evaluated for 10 days without changing the operating conditions. Very high radioactive concentration of (TcO4)-Tc-99m (-) of acceptable quality, commensurate with hospital radiopharmacy requirements could be availed from the system with > 90% yield. The compatibility of the product for the formulation of Tc-99m labeled radiopharmaceuticals such as Tc-99m-DMSA and Tc-99m-EC was found to be satisfactory in terms of high labeling yields. The proposed route represents an important step for enhancing the scope of accessing clinical grade Tc-99m from low specific activity (n, gamma)Mo-99.