CNNC: China has obtained ytterbium 176 isotopes with an abundance of more than 99% for the first time, reaching the international advanced level.

CTOnews.com November 14 news, according to CNNC official news, recently, CNNC Atomic Energy Institute isotope electromagnetic separation technical team sent good news, through independent research and development of key technologies, tested by the Chinese Academy of Scientific Metrology, for the first time separated ytterbium 176 isotopes with abundance more than 99% and purity more than 99.5%, of which ytterbium 174 abundance is less than 0.5%.

▲ ytterbium 176 sample, Tuyuan China Nuclear Group, according to the introduction, this breakthrough has effectively enhanced the domestic preparation ability of China's medical isotope carrier-free lutetium 177precursor material-- high abundance ytterbium 176 isotope, fills the domestic gap, and indicates that the ytterbium 176 isotope developed by our country has reached the international advanced level.

According to the CTOnews.com query of ▲, lutetium 177 is the most promising and active radionuclide in the world. The radiopharmaceuticals prepared by lutetium 177 can be used in the treatment of neuroendocrine tumors and prostate cancer. The application prospect is broad, and the market demand is increasing rapidly. As the precursor material for the preparation of carrier-free lutetium 177, ytterbium 176 is mainly from Russia and the United States. there is no high abundance of ytterbium 176 in China, which limits the development and application of carrier-free lutetium 177 nuclides in China.

The high abundance ytterbium 176 isotope will provide an important precursor material for the carrier-free medical isotope lutetium 177, thus laying a solid technical foundation for reversing the 100% import dependence rate of high abundance ytterbium 176.