ABSTRACT
Protactinium-230 ( t1/2 = 17.4 d) is the parent isotope of 230U ( t1/2 = 20.8 d), a radionuclide of interest for targeted alpha therapy (TAT). Column chromatographic methods have been developed to separate no-carrier-added 230Pa from proton irradiated thorium targets and accompanying fission products. Results reported within demonstrate the use of novel sulfur bearing chromatographic extraction resins for the selective separation of protactinium. The recovery yield of 230Pa was 93 ± 4% employing a R3PâS type commercially available resin and 88 ± 4% employing a DGTA (diglycothioamide) containing custom synthesized extraction chromatographic resin. The radiochemical purity of the recovered 230Pa was measured via high purity germanium γ-ray spectroscopy to be >99.5% with the remaining radioactive contaminant being 95Nb due to its similar chemistry to protactinium. Measured equilibrium distribution coefficients for protactinium, thorium, uranium, niobium, radium, and actinium on both the R3PâS type and the DGTA resin in hydrochloric acid media are reported, to the best of our knowledge, for the first time.
Subject(s)
Protactinium/isolation & purification , Resins, Synthetic/chemistry , Molecular Structure , Protactinium/chemistry , Resins, Synthetic/chemical synthesis , Surface Properties , Thymidine/analogs & derivatives , Thymidine/chemical synthesis , Thymidine/chemistry , Uranium/chemistry , Uranium/isolation & purificationABSTRACT
An analytical procedure has been developed for the age determination of highly enriched uranium samples exploiting the mother/daughter pair 235U/231Pa. Protactinium is separated from bulk uranium through highly selective sorption to silica gel and is subsequently quantified using alpha-spectrometry. The method has been validated using uranium standard reference materials of known ages. It affords decontamination factors exceeding 2.5 x 10(7), overall recoveries in the range of 80-85%, and a combined uncertainty below 5%.
