Improved separation scheme for Sc produced by irradiation of Ca targets with 12.8 MeV protons.

Introduction: Sc is of great interest as a positron emission tomography (PET) radionuclide due to its suitable nuclear characteristics: E = 1.47 MeV, branching ratio 94.3% and convenient half-life of 3.97 h. Here, Sc was produced via the widely used reaction Ca (p,n)Sc using natural calcium as a target.

Methods: The irradiation was performed at TRIUMF using the 13 MeV cyclotron. The separation consisted of a combination of DGA branched resin and Dowex 50Wx8 (200-400 mesh). The distribution coefficients of Sc on Dowex 50Wx8 (NH form, 200-400 mesh) with ammonium α-hydroxyisobutyrate (pH = 4.8) medium were determined in this study.

Results And Conclusion: The tested scheme allows both a reliable separation of Sc from the target material as well as from the other competitive metals and a final fraction with high specific activity. The achieved radiochemical yield was 95 ± 3%.