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Successful labeling of 99mTc-MDP using 99mTc separated from 99Mo produced by accelerator neutrons

Aug. 18, 2011

Joint research group of JAEA, Chiyoda Technol Cooperation, and Fujifilm RI Pharma Co. has succeeded for the first time to separate 99mTc from 99Mo produced using accelerator neutrons and to formulate 99mTc-methylene diphosphonate (99mTc-MDP), used in skeletal scintigraphy.

Using 99mTc-labeled tissue-specific radiopharmaceuticals, more than 80% of all nuclear medicine procedures, about 30 million procedures per year in the world and about 0.9 million ones in Japan, are carried out every year. A reliable supply of 99Mo, therefore, is crucial to ensure the routine application of 99mTc. In the present study, 99Mo, the mother nuclide of 99mTc, was produced by the 100Mo(n,2n)99Mo reaction using about 14MeV neutrons provided by the 3H(d,n)4He reaction at the Fusion Neutronics Source of Japan Atomic Energy Agency. The radionuclide purity of 99mTc separated from 99Mo by sublimation and the labeling efficiency of 99mTc-MDP were higher than 99.99% and 99%, respectively. These values exceed the United States Pharmacopeia requirements for a fission product, 99Mo, indicating a 99mTc radiopharmaceutical preparation formed by using the present production method of 99Mo can be a promising substitute for the fission product 99Mo. A longstanding problem to ensure a reliable and constant supply of 99Mo in Japan, therefore, can be partially mitigated. A production system of 99Mo/99mTc on the basis of the present method is expected to be exported to countries which do not have a nuclear reactor to provide a local supply network of 99Mo.

Part of this work is published in “Journal of the Physical Society of JapanEon August 2011.

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