Theoretical investigations on the laser isotope separation of 175Yb for medical applications

Abstract

The possibility of laser isotope separation of ¹⁷⁵Yb from irradiated natural Yb has been investigated. The optimum process parameters such as powers and bandwidths of the lasers, Doppler broadening and the number density of the atoms have been derived through density matrix calculations. It has been shown that it is possible to produce ¹⁷⁵Yb (>42% enriched) at a production rate of 62 μg/hour (or 1.5 mg/day). This corresponds to the production rate of 1350 patient doses (of 7.4 GBq each) per day. The radionuclidic purity of the isotopic mixture is expected to be 99.9999%. The method is highly suitable for the countries having only low-flux nuclear reactors.

Keywords: Density matrix; Laser isotope separation; Peptide Receptor Radionuclide Therapy; Targeted radionuclide therapy; Ytterbium.