Improved column-based radiochemical processing of the generator produced 68Ga.

An improved chemical strategy for processing of the generator produced (68)Ga was developed based on processing of the original (68)Ge/(68)Ga generator eluate on a micro-column. Direct pre-concentration and purification of the eluted (68)Ga is performed on a cation-exchange resin in hydrochloric acid/acetone media. A supplementary step based on a second micro-column filled with a second resin allows direct re-adsorption of (68)Ga eluted from the cation exchanger. (68)Ga is finally striped from the second resin with a small volume of pure water. For this purpose a strong anion exchanger and a novel extraction chromatographic resin based on tetraalkyldiglycolamides are characterized. The strategy allows online pre-concentration and purification of (68)Ga from the original generator eluate. The supplementary column allows transferring (68)Ga with high radionuclide and chemical quality in the aqueous solution with small volume and low acidity useful for direct radiolabeling reactions.

Post-elution processing of (44)Ti/(44)Sc generator-derived (44)Sc for clinical application.

The (44)Ti/(44)Sc (T(1/2)(44)Ti=60a) generator provides cyclotron-independent access to positron-emitting (44)Sc (T(1/2)=3.97d) for PET imaging. This work aims to post-elution processing of initial (44)Sc generator eluates in order to reduce its volume, HCl concentration and remove the oxalate anions. The on-line adsorption of (44)Sc on cationic resin AG 50W-X8 (200-400 mesh, H(+)-form) is achieved with >98% efficacy. Subsequently, the purified (44)Sc is desorbed by using 3ml of 0.25M ammonium acetate (pH=4.0). The post-processing takes 10min. The overall yield of the post-processing reached 90%, which is referred to the (44)Sc obtained from the (44)Ti/(44)Sc generator. In addition to the chemical purification, the content of (44)Ti breakthrough was further reduced by one order of magnitude. The 185MBq generator finally provides 150MBq of (44)Sc containing <10Bq of (44)Ti ready for labeling.

An experimental comparison of the K- and L-Auger electron spectra generated in the decays of 140Nd and 111In.

The low-energy electron spectra generated in the decay of 140Nd have been measured using a combined electrostatic spectrometer adjusted to the 4, 7, and 35 eV instrumental resolution. In order to estimate the therapeutic potential of low-energy electrons associated with the decay of 140Nd, similar experiments have been performed with 111In. Relative Auger electron intensity ratios per decay are: 111In(K-Auger)/140Nd(K-Auger)=1.47(12), 111In(L-Auger) /140Nd(L-Auger)=1.1(4), and 111In(L-Auger [2.8-7 keV])/140Nd(L-Auger [2.8-7 keV])=0.24(11). The obtained K-Auger group intensity ratios have been compared with results of calculations. The good agreement found for the experimental and estimated values indicates that such information can be also derived using available nuclear and atomic data. The relative intensity of L-Auger electrons emitted within the 2.8-7 keV interval is higher for 140Nd by a factor of about 4 compared to 111In. As the L-Auger emission is dominating relative to that of the K-Auger group, this implicates that any potential endotherapeutic strategy using 140Nd-labelled targeting vectors requires a maximum accumulation of the endoradiotherapeutical close to the cell nucleus or the DNA of the tumour cell.