Recent developments in nuclear data measurements and chemical separation methods in accelerator production of astatine and technetium radionuclides

Abstract

The cyclotron produced neutron deficient technetium radionuclides (⁹³Tc, ^94(m+g)Tc, ⁹⁵Tc, ⁹⁶Tc) have gained renewed interest in various fields, including nuclear imaging, provided they can be obtained in a pure form. Similarly, ²¹¹At due to its moderate half-life and high intensity α-particle energy (both from ²¹¹At as well as its transient decay product ²¹¹Po) is of prime interest in targeted therapy. Another interest is to study the astatine chemistry, which is least studied compared to other halogens due to its non-occurrence in natural systems. For maximum production of these radionuclides various parameters need to be standardized. A chemical separation is required to achieve high radiochemical purity before in-vivo application. This review describes various production routes of neutron deficient astatine and technetium radionuclides that have been reported after the year 2000. The analytical chemistry developed for separation of no-carrier-added (nca) Tc and At radionuclides in the same period is also discussed in detail.