Evaluation of the separation and purification of 227Th from its decay progeny by anion exchange and extraction chromatography

Abstract

Thorium-227 is currently undergoing evaluation as a potential radionuclide for targeted cancer therapy, and as such a high chemical purity of the material is required. To establish a reliable procedure for radiochemical isolation of ²²⁷Th from the parent ²²⁷Ac and decay progeny, which includes the radiotherapeutic ²²³Ra, the performance of three different separation schemes based on ion-exchange and extraction chromatography have been evaluated. The results suggest that both ion exchange and extraction chromatographic techniques can be successfully used for the separation of ²²⁷Th from its decay progeny, however extraction chromatographic resins demonstrate favourable performance in terms of Th recovery and purification from radionuclide impurities.

Keywords: (227)Th; Extraction chromatography; Ion-exchange; Radiochemical separation; Radiopharmaceuticals.