Rapid separation, purification of ⁹⁰Sr and feasibility studies for the preparation of ⁹⁰Y resin microsphere brachytherapy source from FBTR irradiated fuel dissolver solution

Presently several beta emitting radionuclides are in use as brachytherapy sources, due to their inherent advantages of short-range radiation dose delivery compared to their gamma emitting counterparts. ⁹⁰Y is one of the well-known hard beta-emitting radioisotopes for the therapeutic application of radioactivity. Among various other modalities, ⁹⁰Y resin microsphere as a brachytherapy source has its application for liver cancer. In the present study, ⁹⁰Y was recovered from ^235,238U,²³⁹Pu(n_fast,f)⁹⁰Sr(β⁻)⁹⁰Y using Sr selective crown ether followed by quick purification using the Ion Chromatography technique. The purified ⁹⁰Y was labelled in strong cation exchange resin to form ⁹⁰Y resin microsphere. Various quality control parameters, e.g., water solubility, chemical, radionuclidic purity, and half-life, were verified using Gamma spectrometry, Cerenkov, and Liquid Scintillation Counting techniques. The obtained half-life was 64.05 h, which is in excellent agreement with the literature and is indirect evidence of the very high radionuclidic purity of the sample. A rapid method for the synthesis of ⁹⁰Y resin microsphere brachytherapy source is being reported for the first time after its recovery from irradiated fast reactor fuel dissolver solution. After the separation of ⁹⁰Sr along with trace level impurities inside the hot cell, simultaneous purification of parent ⁹⁰Sr and daughter ⁹⁰Y using single-stage Ion Chromatography step takes 15–25 min only in comparison to 24 h or more time using multistage conventional Ion exchange chromatography column, which saves the separation time and in turn, increase the yield of ⁹⁰Y per separation campaign.