Abstracts and Available Papers Presented at the
1998 International RERTR Meeting

PREPARATION OF A GEL OF ZIRCONIUM MOLYBDATE FOR USE IN THE GENERATORS OF ⁹⁹Mo-^99mTc PREPARED WITH ⁹⁹Mo PRODUCED BY THE ⁹⁸Mo(n,g )⁹⁹Mo REACTION

João A. Osso Junior, Ana Lúcia V. P. Lima, Nestor C. da Silva, Renata C. Nieto, Adriana C. de Velosa

Instituto de Pesquisas Energéticas e Nucleares - IPEN-CNEN/SP
Travessa R 400 – Cidade Universitária – CEP 05508-900
São Paulo – SP – Brasil

Abstract

IPEN develops a project concerning the preparation of a gel of Zirconium Molybdate for use in the generators of ⁹⁹Mo-^99mTc. ^99mTc is the most used radioisotope in Nuclear Medicine diagnosis procedures and nowadays the generators are being prepared with imported ⁹⁹Mo, produced by ²³⁵U fission. The production of ⁹⁹Mo by the ⁹⁸Mo(n,g )⁹⁹Mo reaction is now possible because of the power upgrade of IPEN's IEA-R1 reactor, from 2 to 5 MW. This work describes the preparation method of Zirconium Molybdate gel that will be used in the ⁹⁹Mo-^99mTc generators. The gel is prepared by the chemical reaction between Mo, in MoO₃ form, and Zr, in ZrOCl₂.8H₂O form. After the reaction, the gel is filtered, dried and cracked with saline solution. The product is then loaded into glass columns for use as ^99mTc generator. The results showed the good quality of the gel prepared at laboratory level and of the generators evaluated.