A cerium-based metal-organic framework as adsorbent for the ⁹⁹Mo/^99mTc generator

The cerium-based metal–organic framework UiO-66 (Ce) was examined as a potential adsorbent for the 99Mo/99mTc generator. The results showed that the adsorbent had an outstanding adsorption performance, reaching up to 475 mg/g adsorption capacity at pH 3. An adsorption mechanism was proposed, where the adsorption was governed by hydrogen bonds, Ce-O-Mo coordination, π-anions and electrostatic interaction. Additionally, the adsorbent exhibited excellent radiation stability and good adsorption performance when radioactive 99Mo was applied. A 99Mo/99mTc generator was fabricated with UiO-66 (Ce) as adsorbent and its performance was evaluated over two weeks. The elution results showed that 92 ± 3% of 99mTc elution efficiency could be obtained with negligible cerium breakthrough, showing the great potential of UiO-66 (Ce) as adsorbent for 99Mo/99mTc generators.