Removal of Metal Impurities from ⁹⁰YCl₃ Solution with Strongly Basic Anion Exchange Resin

The ⁹⁰YCl₃ solution for medical use is generally extracted from the 90Sr/90Y radioactive decay equilibrium system. The ⁹⁰Y solution obtained from ⁹⁰Sr/⁹⁰Y has no carrier, but contains a certain amount of metal impurity. A further purification by using of the concentration of hydrochloric acid is needed before it used for the preparation of ⁹⁰Y radiopharmaceuticals. The adsorption behavior of Y³⁺, Fe³⁺, Al³⁺, Zn²⁺ and Mg²⁺ on AE4 strongly basic anion exchange was studied. AE4 have no adsorbability for Al³⁺, Zn²⁺ and Mg²⁺ in HCl solution. Fe³⁺ was strongly adsorbed by AE4 in hydrochloric acid solution when the concentration above 3 mol/L, and Y³⁺ was also adsorbed by AE4 in hydrochloric acid solution when the concentration above 7 mol/L. By adjusting the concentration of hydrochloric acid in the solution, Y³⁺, Fe³⁺, Al³⁺, Zn²⁺, Mg²⁺ in hydrochloric acid solution can quantitatively passing the solution successively through the first AE4 column where Fe³⁺ is separated and the second AE4 column where Y³⁺ is adsorbed. Finally, a purified YCl₃ solution can be obtained by using 0.01 mol/L HCl elutes. The result of both the stable nuclide and ⁹⁰Y tracer shows that AE4 resin can be used to remove the main impurity metal elements such as Fe, Al, Zn and Mg in ⁹⁰YCl₃ solution.