Microwave oven drying of zirconium molybdate-99Mo for use in 99mTc gel generator

99mTc Gel Generators Based on Zirconium Molybdate-99Mo: II. Evaluation of Preparation and Performance

“…However, as has been pointed out in our earlier papers [4,5], the extent of variations in " m Tc yield and "Mo breakthrough could be higher in the case of micro wave drying of Zr"Mo, unless careful control over the drying conditions like duration and power output are exercised. Further experiments with the microwave oven drying technique have indicated that a batch size of 20 g molybdenum could be processed in about 8 hours (Drying time: 60 min at 385 watts), thereby enabling production of 8-10 generators per batch in the facility set up [6].…”

“…Our investigations led to standardization of basically two methods of drying the Zr"Mo cake, which is the crucial step in the gel generator preparation, one involving the use of regulated flow of heated air [1][2][3] and the other based on microwave heating at 385 watts [4,5]. The latter method was studied with a view to achieve reduction in gel processing time, an attribute essential for enhanced scale production.…”

“…The latter method was studied with a view to achieve reduction in gel processing time, an attribute essential for enhanced scale production. The promising results reported by us earlier [4,5] using the microwave drying technique to reduce the processing time provided the basis for this evaluation study. The successful production of Zr"Mo suitable for column operation and elution of 99m Tc from these attempts [2,5] erator assemblies in-house, enabling preparation and testing of " m Tc gel generators.…”

“…The promising results reported by us earlier [4,5] using the microwave drying technique to reduce the processing time provided the basis for this evaluation study. The successful production of Zr"Mo suitable for column operation and elution of 99m Tc from these attempts [2,5] erator assemblies in-house, enabling preparation and testing of " m Tc gel generators. This paper describes the preparation of a series of such gel generators and the evaluation of their performance, including in hospital radiopharmacies.…”

99mTc Gel Generators Based on Zirconium Molybdate-99Mo: I. Process Standardisation for Production

“…Our earlier experience with the ZrMo generator system [3] and later on with TiMo system [8] had revealed that the temperature and duration of drying were crucial to obtain an elutable column matrix, high " m Tc yield and reproducibility. It was envisaged that a drying technique which is rapid, involves minimal handling and transfer of precipitate and circumvents the cumbersome grinding and sieving steps would hold the key to success at remotisation [11,12], This paper describes our success at drying the ZrMo cake using a regulated flow of air heated in a controlled manner, which eventually led to the standardisation of a process for production of 5-10 generators per batch in a lead shielded plant adapting simple, ingenious techniques.…”