Separation of 221Fr from 225Ac using diglycolamide solid extractants.

This work is focused on the separation of a daughter radionuclide 221Fr from medicinal 225Ac to provide a source of pure 221Fr fraction for other studies. To achieve such a goal, diglycolamide extraction agents were immobilized on polymer matrix and tested in extraction chromatography experiments. Particularly experiments with N,N,N´,N´tetrakis2-ethylhexyldiglycolamide in nitric acid medium provided promising results and the material was further studied in column experiments. The chosen conditions of separation provided 221Fr in yields over 65% with 225Ac contamination under 1% in less than 5 min, which is a sufficient proof of concept suitable for further studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]