Scaled-up production of 131I radioisotope using dry distilation method for radiopharmaceutical application

Abstract

The development of nuclear medicine is increasing every year, including the need for diagnostic or therapeutic radioisotope sources. Iodine-131 (131I) radioisotope is used for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes in patients with thyroid cancer or neuroblastoma. Research and Technology Center for Radioisotope and Radiopharmaceutical - National Research and Innovation Agency (RTCRR-NRIA) has been able to produce 131I radioisotope with radioactivity up to 18.5 - 29.6 Gbq/month. This study aims to scale-up the production capacity of 131I radioisotope by using dry distillation method and to determine the radionuclide and radiochemical purity of the 131I radioisotope. The scaled-up production of 131I radioisotope was carried out in a hot cell facility of Radioisotope and Radiopharmaceutical Laboratory (RRL). 50 grams of TeO2 was used as target material. The TeO2 was irradiated at the Central Irradiation Position (CIP) facility at G.A Siwabessy multipurpose reactor. The post-irradiation target was heated up to 800° C for ± 5 hours under a vacuum condition in the distillation system of -2 incHg to -3 incHg. In this study, the 131I radioisotope was produced with radioactivity of 192 - 344 Gbq/month, radionuclide purity of 99%, and radiochemical purity of 95%. The scaled-up production 131I radioisotope has been successfully carried out with an increase of more than 12 times the initial capacity. In the future, the production of 131I radioisotope will be used for domestic needs in the oral dosage form.