According to the official public account of CNNC, good news recently came from the isotope electromagnetic separation technology team of the Institute of Atomic Energy of CNNC. Through independent research and development of key technologies and testing by the China Institute of Scientific Metrology,For the first time, the ytterbium-176 isotope with an abundance greater than 99% and a purity greater than 99.5% was isolated, of which the abundance of ytterbium-174 was less than 0.5%.
This breakthrough has effectively enhanced my country’s domestic production capability of high-abundance ytterbium-176 isotope, a precursor material for medical isotope-free lutetium 177.It fills the domestic gap and marks that my country's independently developed ytterbium-176 isotope has reached the international advanced level.
It is understood that carrier-free lutetium-177 is currently the world’s most promising and market-vital integrated nuclide for targeted radioactive diagnosis and treatment.
The radioactive drugs prepared by it can be used for the treatment of neuroendocrine tumors and prostate cancer.The application prospects are broad and the market demand is growing rapidly.
Ytterbium-176, as the precursor material for preparing carrier-free Lutetium-177, mainly comes from Russia and the United States. Previously, there was no domestic production capacity of high-abundance Ytterbium-176, which limited the development and application research of domestic carrier-free Lutetium-177 nuclide.
This breakthrough will provide important precursor materials for the carrier-free medical isotope Lutetium-177.This has laid a solid technical foundation for reversing the situation of 100% dependence on imports of high-abundance ytterbium-176.