Nanomaterial Sorbents for the Preparation of 188W/188Re Generator and 188Re Radiopharmaceutical Development

Rhenium-188 is a useful radionuclide for targeted therapy thanks to the high energy (2.12 MeV) b- emission, low abundance gamma rays (155 keV and 15%) suitable for imaging and availability from the 188W/188Re generator. Though considerable amount of work on the development of 188Re-radiopharmaceuticals have been reported in the literature, the clinical uses of them are still low mainly due to the limited availability and high cost of the generators. However, a 188Re radiopharmacy can be successfully run provided the generator is used for the preparation of several 188Re-radiopharmaceuticals. The relatively low radioactive concentration of 188Re from conventional alumina based generators, thereby needing post elution concentration, is one of the limitations for the extended use of the generator. The development of nanomaterials having higher capacity for adsorption of 188W allows it to be used for the preparation of column generators capable of giving high radioactive concentration for the eluted perrhenate. This review provides an overview of the work done at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai, India, for the development of 188W/188Re generator as well as the development of several 188Re-based radiopharmaceuticals