Ion-imprinted resin for use in an automated solid phase extraction system for determining 90Sr in environmental and human samples

In Sr-90 analysis, determining its daughter Y-90 improves the sensitivity of the radiometric methods. We found that to imprint a cavity made of [Y(6-(4-Vinylphenylcarbamoyl)pyridine-2-carboxylate)(3)] into a polystyrene skeleton yields a solid phase extraction resin with high selectivity for Y and Ln(III) over transition metals, alkaline, and alkaline-earth cations. We used this resin in an automated chromatography system to extract Y-90 from milk, grass, vegetables, soil, sediments, water, human bones, and milk teeth samples. We found that the ion-imprinted resin could be used to separate light Ln(III) using a pH gradient, favoring the targeting of molecules used in nuclear medicine