Development of Ra in the sea water collection technology for production of medical tracer Ac-225

Oguri, Kaori ; Arai, Yoichi ; Watanabe, So  ; Seko, Noriaki*; Hoshina, Hiroyuki*

Radium-226 (Ra) has recently attracted attention as a source for the production of Actinium-225 (Ac), which can be used for the alpha-particle treatment of cancer. Ra is present in approximately 10,000 tons in the sea. The amount of Ra in seawater could help patients with metastatic cancer around the world. Therefore, we focused on the extraction of Ra from seawater and examined an effective process for refining Ra. Due to the low concentration of Ra in seawater, only a few ppb, it has not received much attention in terms of economic point. Therefore, we focused on adsorbents prepared by Radiation-Induced Graft Polymerization to selectively collect Ra. In this study, we performed adsorption studies with Barium (Ba), homologs element of Ra, which may coexist with Ra in seawater.