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How Technetium-99M Is Prepared Using a Generator?

James H. Sterling • • 6 min read
How Technetium-99M Is Prepared Using a Generator?

Technetium-99m is produced relatively inexpensively using a generator. Molybdenum-99 suspended on an alumina column decays (t½ = 66 h) to form technetium-99m. ... The technetium-99m half-life of 6 h allows time for preparation of the radiotracer

radiotracer
A radioactive tracer, radiotracer, or radioactive label, is a chemical compound in which one or more atoms have been replaced by a radionuclide so by virtue of its radioactive decay it can be used to explore the mechanism of chemical reactions by tracing the path that the radioisotope follows from reactants to products ...
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, distribution and patient imaging.

How is technetium 99m generated?

Technetium -99m is produced by bombarding molybdenum 98Mo with neutrons. The resultant 99Mo decays with a half-life of 66 hours to the metastable state of Tc . This process permits the production of 99mTc for medical purposes.

How is 99mTc obtained in the generator?

Mo can be obtained by the neutron activation (n,γ reaction) of 98Mo in a high neutron flux reactor. However, the most frequently used method is through fission of uranium-235 in a nuclear reactor. ... Molybdenum-99 is then separated from unreacted uranium and other fission products in a hot cell.

James H. Sterling
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James H. Sterling

James Sterling reports on renewable energy developments, climate policy, ecological conservation, and green tech innovations around the globe.