Rapid separation of carrier-free inorganic and organic compounds of radioiodine and astatine by high-pressure liquid chromatography

The radioisotopes¹²³I (T=13.3 h) and, potentially,²¹¹At(T=7.2 h) find increasing interest for radiopharmaceutical applications in diagnosis and therapy. They were produced via the¹²²Te(α, 3n)¹³Xe(α⁺)¹³I and the²⁰⁹Bi(α, 2n)²¹¹At processes. Fast and efficient separations of carrier-free species obtained from target processing, as well as from classical or decay-induced synthesis were archieved by means of high-pressure ion-exchange and partition chromatography. Inorganic forms (X⁻, XO ₃ ⁻ , At⁺) could be identified and separated on pretreated Aminex A 27 and A 7 resins, and biomolecules such as 5-halodeoxyuridines and-uracils on Aminex A 25 resins and Merckosorb Si 60 silica. The chromatographic methods can also be used for stability tests of radiopharmaceuticals in biochemical mixtures, notably physiological fluids.