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

Appl Radiat Isot. 2012 Sep;70(9):2006-11. doi: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2012.02.066. Epub 2012 Feb 25.

Abstract

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 1899.1 keV, and partially by electron capture (10.9%). This nuclide has been standardized in the frame of a cooperation project between the Radionuclide Metrology laboratories from CIEMAT (Spain) and CNEA (Argentina). Measurements involved several techniques: 4πβ-γ coincidences, integral gamma counting and Liquid Scintillation Counting using the triple to double coincidence ratio and the CIEMAT/NIST methods. Given the short half-life of the radionuclide assayed, a direct comparison between results from both laboratories was excluded and a comparison of experimental efficiencies of similar NaI detectors was used instead.

MeSH terms

  • Equipment Design
  • Equipment Failure Analysis
  • Gallium Radioisotopes / analysis
  • Gallium Radioisotopes / chemistry*
  • Gallium Radioisotopes / standards*
  • Half-Life
  • Internationality
  • Radiation Dosage
  • Reference Standards
  • Reference Values
  • Scintillation Counting / instrumentation*
  • Scintillation Counting / standards*

Substances

  • Gallium Radioisotopes