CYC2025 - International Conference on Cyclotrons and their Applications (Chengdu)

Automated Separation and Purification of 68Ge from Cyclotron-irradiated Ga-Ni Alloy Targets

TUP53

28 Oct 2025, 16:30

2h

InterContinental Chengdu Global Center

Poster Presentation Cyclotron for Hadron Therapy and Isotope Production Tuesday Poster Session

Speaker

FEI DUAN (High-Tech Atomic Co., Ltd.)

Description

1. Introduction.
   Germanium-68 (68Ge,T1/2=270.9 d) serves as a crucial precursor for the 68Ge/68Ga generator, which provides radionuclide gallium-68 (68Ga, T1/2=67.7 min). The present study aimed to develop an efficient and automated methodology for the separation and purification of 68Ge from the irradiated Ga-Ni alloy targets.
2. Method
   The Ga-Ni alloy targets were dissolved in a mixture of sulfuric acid and hydrogen peroxide at 95℃using an automatic dissolution apparatus. Subsequently, the conditions for purifying germanium via a double-column approach (Hydroxamate and Sephadex G 25 resin) were optimized, and the process validated through radiochemical separation experiments for 68Ge.
3. Results & Conclusion.
   As shown in Figure 1, the hydroxamate resin (Column-A) removed impurities including Ga, Ni, and Zn; the Sephadex G-25 resin (Column-B) then eliminated Nb and Au. The radiochemical separation experiments of 68Ge confirmed a separation recovery rate exceeded 90%. The 68Ge product exhibited a radionuclide purity greater than 99.9% with all elemental impurity levels below 1.5 ppm (Table 1). In conclusion, the established automated double-column separation process proves to be stable and efficient, offering a reliable technical foundation for the large-scale production of high-quality 68Ge.