Long-Term Evaluation of ‘BARC 68 Ge/ 68 Ga Generator’ Based on the Nanoceria-Polyacrylonitrile Composite Sorbent

Abstract

This article describes the long-term evaluation of a nanoceria-polyacrylonitrile (CeO₂-PAN) composite sorbent-based ⁶⁸Ge/⁶⁸Ga generator reported. This generator used the new CeO₂-PAN composite sorbent for preparation of the ⁶⁸Ge/⁶⁸Ga generator. Since this sorbent has not been previously evaluated, a thorough long-term evaluation of the performance of the generator is necessary to ensure its applicability for clinical practice. The performance of the generator was evaluated in terms of ⁶⁸Ga yield, ⁶⁸Ge breakthrough, radioactive concentration of the ⁶⁸Ga solution, and suitability of the ⁶⁸Ga for the preparation of ⁶⁸Ga-labeled tracers. The ⁶⁸Ge/⁶⁸Ga generator was able to provide a ⁶⁸Ga activity with consistent yields (>70%) and having acceptable radionuclidic (<10⁻⁴% of ⁶⁸Ge breakthrough), radiochemical, and chemical purities for an extended period of time. The eluted ⁶⁸GaCl₃ is useful for the majority of the ⁶⁸Ga complexation chemistry.