Abstract
The development of a setup for a fast online characterization of radionuclide generators is reported. A generator utilizing the mother nuclide 227Ac sorbed on a cation exchange resin is continuously eluted by using a peristaltic pump. To allow continuous and pulse-free elution of a large volume over extended time periods a 3D-printed interface designed to remove pressure-oscillations induced by the pump was placed between pump and generator column to ensure undisturbed generator elution. The eluate of the generator is passed through a 3D printed flow cell placed inside a borehole Na(Tl)-scintillation detector for high counting efficiency. Alternatively, a HPGe detector suitable for nuclide identification was used to demonstrate the validity of the online method. The detection system combines conventional gamma-ray spectrometry with fast list mode data acquisition in the Matlab software package. Elution experiments were performed at different flow rates of hydrochloric acid, separating 211Bi (t1/2 = 2.14 min) free from its parent nuclides. In addition, to prove the versatility of the setup, experiments at different hydrochloric acid concentrations were performed resulting in the elution of pure 211Pb (t1/2 = 36.1 min) and 223Ra (t1/2 = 11.43 d), respectively.
Acknowledgments
The authors acknowledge the institute of nuclear chemistry, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, for making 227Ac available for this research. We thank J. Runke and P. Thörle-Pospiech for the preparation of the 227Ac sample.
Author contributions: The experimental setup and the DAQ software was developed by D.K. Actinium was provided by Ch. E. D. Experiments were done by D.K. and L.L. Data analysis was performed by D.K. and U.W.S. D.K. wrote the manuscript with input from U.W.S., Ch. E. D. and L.L. The project was supervised by U.W.S.
Research funding: This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.
Conflict of interest statement: The authors declare no conflicts of interest regarding this article.
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