Separation of 103Ru from a proton irradiated thorium matrix: A potential source of Auger therapy radionuclide 103mRh

Abstract

Ruthenium-103 is the parent isotope of 103mRh (t1/2 56.1 min), an isotope of interest for Auger electron therapy. During the proton irradiation of thorium targets, large amounts of 103Ru are generated through proton induced fission. The development of a two part chemical separation process to isolate 103Ru in high yield and purity from a proton irradiated thorium matrix on an analytical scale is described herein. The first part employed an anion exchange column to remove cationic actinide/lanthanide impurities along with the majority of the transition metal fission products. Secondly, an extraction chromatographic column utilizing diglycolamide functional groups was used to decontaminate 103Ru from the remaining impurities. This method resulted in a final radiochemical yield of 83 ± 5% of 103Ru with a purity of 99.9%. Additionally, measured nuclear reaction cross sections for the formation of 103Ru and 106Ru via the 232Th(p,f)103,106Ru reactions are reported within.

Photo-excitation production of medically interesting isomers using intense γ-ray source

“…103m Rh (T 1/2 = 56.1 min) is a key example of an Auger-emitting candidate. It decays via isomeric transition to stable 103 Rh, and gives rise to emission of low-energy Auger electrons [18]. The 40 keV isometric decay energy is totally converted in the electronic shells for the stable 103 Rh with no measurable γ rays and results in a "shower" of low-energy electrons and X rays [19].…”