Current Developments in the Industry Production Process of 99Mo for Medical Use

The aging of global research reactors has led to a serious shortage of target irradiation capacity for industrial production of 99Mo, as well as restrictions on the civilian use of high enriched uranium under the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty. This has forced the exploration of new production processes for 99Mo and the conversion of existing high enriched uranium targets to low enriched uranium targets. In the process of exploring new technologies and target conversion, it has caused a global shortage of medical 99Mo supply, endangering people’s health.The United States, Canada, and Europe are intensifying their exploration of new process technologies for the commercialization and stable supply of medical 99Mo, such as exploring irradiation targets with as accelerator particle beams, subcritical devices, small reactors, molten salt stacks, and solution stacks, using new materials and processes to prepare targets, and applying supercritical, ionic liquids, and new chromatographic columns to the preparation of 99Mo. The production of low enriched uranium targets is gradually replacing high enriched uranium targets. The photonuclear reaction process has matured, and processes such as low-power research reactors, subcritical devices, and particle beams can meet the needs of some local radioactive drugs and nuclear medicine. The active research on accelerator production technology is the development direction of future medical 99Mo production.