A novel¹⁸⁸W/¹⁸⁸Re electrochemical generator with potential for medical applications

Rhenium-188 is a well recognized therapeutic radionuclide and its use in a variety of applications has been reported. The Current methods of obtaining "no-carrier added" Re-188 from conventional alumina based generators require W-188 of very high specific activity for obtaining reasonable quantities of Re-188 in an adequately concentrated form. We have developed a simple electrochemical separation technique adaptable for using low specific activity W-188, for the separation of Re-188 from W-188, and obtain Re-188 amenable for radiolabeling biomolecules. The overall decay corrected yield of Re-188 was > 70%. The recovered Re-188 had high radiochemical (> 97%) and radionnuclidic purity (> 99.99%). The suitability of the Re-188 for radiolabeling was demonstrated by its use for the complexation of DMSA and HEDP with labeling yields > 98%. Repeated separation of Re-188 from a stock solution of W-188 could be demonstrated for a period of 70 d. The preliminary results suggest that the process can be scaled up to higher activity levels and Suggest that this strategy can be further explored for the development of electrolytic type W-188/Re-188 generator Suitable for clinical applications.