Long-term evaluation of 'BARC 68Ge/68Ga 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 (68)Ge/(68)Ga generator reported. This generator used the new CeO2-PAN composite sorbent for preparation of the (68)Ge/(68)Ga 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 (68)Ga yield, (68)Ge breakthrough, radioactive concentration of the (68)Ga solution, and suitability of the (68)Ga for the preparation of (68)Ga-labeled tracers. The (68)Ge/(68)Ga generator was able to provide a (68)Ga activity with consistent yields (>70%) and having acceptable radionuclidic (<10(-4)% of (68)Ge breakthrough), radiochemical, and chemical purities for an extended period of time. The eluted (68)GaCl3 is useful for the majority of the (68)Ga complexation chemistry.