The use of selective volatization in the separation of 68Ge from irradiated Ga targets

N P van der Meulen; S G Dolley; G F Steyn; T N van der Walt; H G Raubenheimer

doi:10.1016/j.apradiso.2011.01.028

The use of selective volatization in the separation of 68Ge from irradiated Ga targets

Appl Radiat Isot. 2011 May;69(5):727-31. doi: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2011.01.028. Epub 2011 Jan 31.

Authors

N P van der Meulen¹, S G Dolley, G F Steyn, T N van der Walt, H G Raubenheimer

Affiliation

¹ iThemba LABS, Somerset West 7129, South Africa. [email protected]

PMID: 21334903
DOI: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2011.01.028

Abstract

Cyclotron-produced (68)Ge can be separated from its Ga target material by dissolving the target in aqua regia and collecting the volatile (68)Ge in a solution containing 1.0M NaOH and 2% Na₂SO₃. The solution is then acidified with HF before being loaded onto a column containing AG MP-1 anion exchange resin. The column is rinsed with dilute HF to remove any remaining impurities, before eluting the desired product with 0.1M HCl. A radiochemically pure product is obtained.