Separation of (103)Ru from a proton irradiated thorium matrix: A potential source of Auger therapy radionuclide (103m)Rh

Ruthenium-103 is the parent isotope of (103m)Rh (t(1/2) 56.1 min), an isotope of interest for Auger electron therapy. During the proton irradiation of thorium targets, large amounts of (103)Ru are generated through proton induced fission. The development of a two part chemical separation process to isolate (103)Ru in high yield and purity from a proton irradiated thorium matrix on an analytical scale is described herein. The first part employed an anion exchange column to remove cationic actinide/lanthanide impurities along with the majority of the transition metal fission products. Secondly, an extraction chromatographic column utilizing diglycolamide functional groups was used to decontaminate (103)Ru from the remaining impurities. This method resulted in a final radiochemical yield of 83 ± 5% of (103)Ru with a purity of 99.9%. Additionally, measured nuclear reaction cross sections for the formation of (103)Ru and (106)Ru via the (232)Th(p,f)(103,106)Ru reactions are reported within.