Production and separation of (186g)Re from proton bombardment of (186)WC.

A proof of concept study was undertaken where non-carrier added (186 g)Re was produced from the cyclotron bombardment of (186)WC. (186)WC was carbo-thermally generated from a novel precursor synthesized from (186)WO3, aqueous ammonia and hexamethyltetramine. The inherent high electrical and thermal conductivity of this material, coupled with its high melting point, made it an ideal candidate for proton bombardment for production of (186)Re. An18 μA irradiation for 3h and processing via thermo-chromatography, (186)WC yielded 0.93 mCi of (186 g)Re which corresponds to 89% of the calculated theoretical yields. The radiochemical purity of the desired (186 g)Re species was found to be between 95 and 97% with small contaminants of (186)ReO2. The radiochemistry utility of the product was investigated using S-benzoyl-MAG3, and 100% complexation was achieved with stability being maintained for 96 h. The re-oxidation of (186)WC back to(186)WO3 by oxygen in the thermo-chromatography method of processing ensured that the starting material was regenerated and recovered from the process in 94-98% yield.
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