Researchers Produce Mo-99 by Electron Accelerator with Optimized Target System----Institute of Modern Physics

08 11, 2023

Researchers Produce Mo-99 by Electron Accelerator with Optimized Target System

Recently, Chinese researchers have developed the process of producing the medical isotope molybdenum-99 (Mo-99) using the electron accelerator system. The study was published in Applied Radiation and Isotopes.

Mo-99 is the mother nuclide of technetium-99m (Tc-99m), which is widely used in diagnostic nuclear imaging procedures. Currentely, the majority of Mo-99 is produced from the nuclear reactors via fission of highly enriched uranium. However, the supply of Mo-99 could be disrupted because an increasing number of nuclear reactor facilities stopped operation worldwide. Thus, many efforts have been made to find alternatives. Production of Mo-99 via ¹⁰⁰Mo(γ, n)⁹⁹Mo reaction attracts lots of attention due to its low level of co-produced impurities.

The researchers from the Nuclear Chemistry Group and the Electron Accelerator Research Center at the Institute of Modern Physics (IMP), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), have lately investigated producing Mo-99 via ¹⁰⁰Mo(γ, n)⁹⁹Mo reaction.

In order to obtain a high yield of Mo-99, the researchers optimized the target system by means of Monte Carlo simulations before conducting irradiation experiments.

In the experiments, the target system was irradiated at the terminal of the electron linear accelerator system at IMP. The bremsstrahlung was generated from the tantalum converter and Mo-99 was produced in the Mo-100 target.

Besides, researchers analyzed the radioactivity of Mo-99 and radionuclidic purity of the Mo-99 product. The results showed that a manageable level of impurities was co-produced during irradiating the target system and high radionuclidic purity of Mo-99 product was achieved.

This achievement laid a sound foundation for producing medical isotope Mo-99 in large scale with electron accelerators in China.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apradiso.2023.111059