The nuclides 212Bi and 213Bi have garnered interest for targeted alpha therapy of various diseases. 212Bi may be separated from a generator of 224Ra loaded onto strong acid cation exchange, in a manner similar to 212Pb[1]. 213Bi may be produced in 0.1M HCl-0.1M NaI using a generator of 225Ac adsorbed onto strong acid cation exchange resin.

Additionally, a multicolumn method for 213Bi has been developed, where 225Ac is stored in 0.1M HCl[2,3]. 213Bi is selectively retained on UTEVA resin, while 225Ac passes through and is collected for further ingrowth and subsequent 213Bi separations. Stripping the 213Bi with a 0.75M NaCl-0.50M Sodium acetate buffer at pH 4.0 through a guard column of strong acid cation exchange resin and polymeric resin to scavenge organic material produces a high purity 213Bi in a medium that is appropriate for labeling biolocalization agents. The 213Bi generators were developed for use with high purity 225Ac obtained from 229Th decay. However, additional work is being performed to update the generators for use with 225Ac produced from proton spallation of 232Th, which contains 227Ac as an impurity.


References

[1] Atcher, R.W., Friedman, A.M., Hines, J.J. 1988 An improved generator for the production of 212Pb, 212Bi and 224Ra, Appl. Radiat. Isot. 39(4), 283-286.

[2] McAlister, D.R., and Horwitz, E.P. 2009. “Automated two column generator systems for medical radionuclides,” Applied Radiation and Isotopes, 67, 1985-1991.

[3] Bond, A.H., Horwitz, E.P., 2005. Production of ultra-pure bismuth-213 for use in therapeutic nuclear medicine, U. S. Patent No. 6,852,296.