Abstract
Cancer remains one of the leading causes of death worldwide, requiring innovative methods for its treatment such as targeted alpha therapy with Bi-213 based radiopharmaceuticals. Alpha radiation is especially promising as it enables maximum destruction of malignant cells while minimizing cytotoxicity on the surrounding healthy tissue. Current challenges to separate the radioactive Bi-213 from the mother Ac-225 isotope prevent more widespread use in a clinical environment despite the promising results. Therefore, an innovative new sorbent material must enable a highly selective Ac-225/Bi-213 separation, fast (de)-sorption kinetics, and a long operational lifetime. Moreover, the harsh separation conditions (exposure to highly acidic medium and high radiolytic dosages) limit the number of materials qualified for this application. Although inorganic support materials with phosphate or sulphate functionalities show potential, they need to be shaped to an appropriate macroscopic architecture which allows sufficiently fast (de)-sorption kinetics. Therefore, the aim of this project is to develop a micron-sized core-shell type stationary phase consisting of a Ti-support with specific porosity and functional groups that promote the desired (de)-sorption kinetics, while adjusting chemical composition and structural features to provide optimal separation performance (selectivity and yield) in combination with radiation and acid stability.
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