Purification of Carrier-Free 47Sc of Biomedical Interest: Selective Separation Study from natCa(n,γ)

47Sc for theranostic medical applications was produced from the neutron activation of a natural calcium target. Liquid–liquid extraction for separation of the 47Sc radioisotope from 47Ca was carried out with the extractant Cyanex 272 ((2,4,4-trimethylpentyl) phosphinic acid). The effects of various extraction parameters on the extraction efficiency and separation of the two radionuclides were investigated, including the extraction time, pH, metal ion concentrations, extractant concentration, diluent type, and phase ratio. It was shown that the extraction yield of the 47Sc radioisotope with the proposed procedure is about 90%, with a fast separation time of 10 min, at pH 1.8 (0.01 M HCl), and with low E (1%) for 47Ca and high separation factors. The stripping % of the loaded 47Sc isotope was about 99.2% using 0.4 M oxalic acid solution with a purity of 99.9%.

Production and subsequent separation of 47Sc of nuclear medicine applications using neutron-induced reactions on different natural targets

47Sc can be produced from different three neutron induced nuclear reactions as 47Ti(n,p)47Sc, 50V(n,α)47Sc and 46Ca(n,γ)47Ca, 47Ca(β−)47Sc using the Egyptian Second Research Reactor. The measured neutron cross-sections (σ) are 62.12 ± 1.93, 4.51 ± 1.27 and 69.36 ± 2.01 mb from the natural targets of TiO2, V2O3 and CaO respectively. The carrier-free 47Sc from 47Ti(n,p), was purified using a composite of Alginate–Carboxymethyl cellulose/di-2-ethylhexyl phosphoric acid. The radiochemical separation of 47Sc with a recovery yield of 90 ± 1.2% was obtained. The eluted 47Sc passed quality control tests (chemical, radionuclide, and radiochemical purities) and was found to be suitable for nuclear medicine applications.