Production and radiochemical separation of Tb-161 as a feasible beta therapeutic radioisotope from reactor irradiated Gd target.

Terbium-161 (Tb) is a promising therapeutic radionuclide that has gained significant attention in the field of nuclear medicine in recent years. Tb has several favorable characteristics that make it a valuable candidate for targeted radionuclide therapy. The production of No-carrier-added Tb was carried out by the neutron activation of natural gadolinium target in the Egyptian Second Research Reactor (ETRR-2) at a thermal neutron flux position of 1.8 × 10 ncms. The radioactivities of Tb as well as coproduced Gd radioimpurities were computed theoretically by the MCNPX2.7.0 code and verified by actual measurements, where accepted discrepancies were obtained. The purification of Tb from irradiated Gd target was developed by Chelex-100 resin. The elution performance was studied using different eluents, and 0.1 M HNO was found to be the best medium to obtain a high separation efficiency of more than 92% in a short time. The eluted Tb was of high chemical, radiochemical, and radionuclidic purities, indicating its potential for effective application in radiopharmaceutical preparation.