Quality control of Mo-99/Tc-99(m) generators: Results of a survey of the Radiopharmacy Working Group of the Italian Association of Nuclear Medicine (AIMN)

A multicentre survey of the quality control of Tc-99(m) generators has been completed: 245 generators from seven different commercial sources were tested over a period of 2 years. The results indicate that the mean pH of the eluates was 5.8 +/- 0.6; the aluminium contents were typically < 10 ppm; the radiochemical purity was 99.8 +/- 0.4% and the median Mo-99 content was 3.8 x 10(-4) percent. The elution profiles gave a volume of 1.9 ml to obtain 50% of the total eluted activity and of 4.9 ml to obtain 95%. Other radionuclide impurities and heavy metal breakthrough were evaluated by graphite furnace absorption spectrometry and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. National guidelines for the standardization of radiopharmacy procedures are currently being compiled. ((C) 1999 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins).