Technetium-99m (Tc-99m) radiopharmaceuticals are the major diagnostic tools in the clinical practice of nuclear medicine worldwide covering 35 million procedures annually. They play an important role in the diagnosis of cancer patients, cardiac patients and many other conditions. Tc-99m is the decay product of longer-lived Molybdenum-99 (Mo-99) and can be made from a generator system (Mo-99/Tc-99m). The major part of Mo-99 for generator development comes from the fission route which is a well-established method.
Due to the recent crisis in availability of Mo-99, many interesting achievements in the development of new methods of Tc-99m and Mo-99 production have taken place. This Coordinated Research Project (CRP) will identify new technical aspects of the production and quality control of Mo-99 and Tc-99m and T-99m generators focusing on the photodynamic route through the reaction Mo-100(g,n)Mo-99, as well as generator development using high capacity adsorbents for Mo to be employed with low to medium specific activity Mo-99 for application and distribution among IAEA Member States.
