Preparation of short-lived radioisotope167Tm and its biodistribution in mice

A method for the production of¹⁶⁷Tm using the¹⁶⁵Ho(,2n)¹⁶⁷Tm nuclear reaction and extraction-chromatography is described. The chemical recovery of Ho is >90%. The final product contains <4 g/ml of Ho with a radiochemical purity of >99% suitable for medical use. The estimated yield of¹⁶⁷Tm is 10–20 Ci/A·h which is comparable with other recent work. Biodistributions of¹⁶⁷Tm-citrate in mice indicate that¹⁶⁷Tm is an ideal bone and liver tumor scanning agent.