Radiochemical separation of no-carrier-added 177Lu as produced via the image process

The image process was investigated to provide no-carrier-added (nca) 177Lu. The radiochemical separation of the 177Lu from the macro-amounts of the ytterbium target based on the cementation process, i.e. the selective extraction of Yb by Na(Hg) amalgam from Cl−/CH3COO− electrolytes, followed by a final cation exchange purification. The cementation separation process provides a decontamination factor of Yb(III) of 104, the cation exchange purification adding a decontamination factor of >102. The nca 177Lu is available in radiochemically pure form despite the chemical similarity of the lanthanides with 75 ± 5% overall separation yield within 4–5 h. It can be used to synthesise nca 177Lu labelled radiotherapeuticals.