Separation of 134Cs and 137Cs from 125I solution for medical applications

Abstract

Abstract While neutron irradiation of natural Xe gas followed by wet chemical dissolution of activation products constitutes a successful paradigm for the small scale production 125I, the concomitant production of 134Cs and 137Cs emerged as the primary impediment which necessitates purification of 125I solution. This paper describes an ion-exchange chromatographic technique using Resorcinol Formaldehyde (RF) resin to purify 125I solution from 134Cs and 137Cs impurities. A thorough investigation of the adsorption parameters of RF resin was carried out to arrive at the experimental conditions resulting optimum retention of 134Cs and 137Cs impurities. Based on the experimental findings, an optimized separation procedure was developed in which the neutron irradiated dissolved products at pH ∼ 13 was passed through a chromatography column containing RF resin where in 134Cs and 137Cs impurities gets adsorbed leaving behind 125I to appear in the effluent. The overall recovery of 125I was >90% with acceptable purity amenable for clinical applications.