Production of highly purified no-carrier-added 177 Lu for radioimmunotherapy

No-carrier-added 177 Lu produced via the 176 Yb(n, γ) 177 Yb → 177 Lu process was separated from the macroscopic amounts of the Yb target using reversed-phase ion-pair liquid chromatography. To produce a highly purified 177 Lu solution capable of labeling antibodies, the metallic impurities were removed using cation, chelating ion, and anion exchange columns. After the elimination of metallic impurities, the concentrations of Ca, Fe, and Zn were reduced from 87, 340, and 77 ppb to 13, 18, and 9 ppb, respectively. Consequently, the labeling yield of the 177 Lu-labeled antibody increased from <5 to 88 %.