Carbon-based thin films as a suitable alternative to metallized films for the preparation of radioactive sources.

A new method for radionuclide labeling by the use of graphene thin films was previously presented. In this work, a comparison among low energy radioactive sources supported on carbonaceous thin films on polyvinyl chloride-polyvinyl acetate copolymer (VYNS), based on the use of aqueous solutions is investigated as a feasible alternative to the traditional metallized films avoiding the downside of the loss of many broken films. Graphene-based materials were prepared by both oxidation-exfoliation-reduction and direct graphite exfoliation routes.

Preparation of graphene thin films for radioactive samples.

A new method for the preparation of conductive thin films is presented. The metallization of VYNS films guarantees the electrical conductivity but it results in the breaking of a high proportion of them. Graphene, a two-dimensional nanostructure of monolayer or few layers graphite has attracted a great deal of attention because of its excellent properties such as a good chemical stability, mechanical resistance and extraordinary electronic transport properties.

Standardization of Sn-113.

The radionuclide (113)Sn is a quasi-monoenergetic gamma emitter often used in the efficiency calibration of gamma spectrometers in the energy region around 390keV. This paper presents the results of the standardization of this radionuclide by three methods: integral (4π-γ) counting with a well-type NaI(Tl) detector, liquid scintillation counting applying the CIEMAT-NIST method and 4π coincidence counting (conversion electron-X) with a digital coincidence system.

Measurement of the half-life of ⁶⁸Ga.

The half-life of the positron-emitter (68)Ga has been measured by following the decay rate with two systems based on ionization chamber and Ge detectors. The decay rate was measured for periods of time up to 10 half-lives. The combination of the 6 results obtained with both systems gives a value of T1/2=67.

Standardization of Ga-68 by coincidence measurements, liquid scintillation counting and 4πγ counting.

The radionuclide (68)Ga is one of the few positron emitters that can be prepared in-house without the use of a cyclotron. It disintegrates to the ground state of (68)Zn partially by positron emission (89.1%) with a maximum energy of 1899.

Standardization of 18F by coincidence and LSC methods.

The nuclide 18F disintegrates to 18O by beta+ emission (96.86%) and electron capture (3.14%) with a half-life of 1.

Standardization of 67Ga by 4pigamma (NaI) and 4pibeta-gamma coincidence methods.

The nuclide 67Ga is widely used in nuclear medicine for diagnostic purposes. It decays with a half-life of 3.259 days to 67Zn, a stable nuclide.