Abstract:
99mTc derived from
99Mo, stands as the preeminent radiopharmaceutical employed extensively in medical diagnostics worldwide. Its current production mainly relies on some near-retirement nuclear reactors. Compared to reactors, particle accelerators have extremely low construction, operational, and maintenance costs, and their layouts are highly flexible. Given these circumstances, the production of
99Mo/
99mTc by accelerator has become a research hotspot, with using electron-beam to irradiate
100Mo to produce
99Mo and proton-beam to irradiate
100Mo to produce
99mTc being the two most feasible methods. This article compares the advantages and disadvantages of two methods for preparing
99Mo/
99mTc based on accelerators through experiments and Monte Carlo simulations. Direct production of
99mTc by proton accelerators, the advantage is higher yield, but other Tc isotopes, especially
99gTc, are produced alongside. In contrast, irradiating
100Mo by electrons not only can produce high-purity
99Mo with a simpler chemical separation process, but also make it suitable for preparing
99Mo-
99mTc generators, which is relatively more advantageous.