A method for obtaining ^{156, 155, 154m2, 154, 153}Tb radiotracers by the irradiation of a europium oxide target of natural isotopic composition by 27 MeV α-particles is proposed. Terbium can be efficiently separated from bulk of europium by the reduction of the latter by zinc in an acidic solution and precipitation as EuSO₄. The optimum Zn/Eu³⁺ and (NH₄)₂SO₄/Eu³⁺ molar ratios are 20 and 3, respectively. Terbium is additionally purified from europium and gadolinium by extraction chromatography using LN Resin. It is demonstrated that optimum separation is attained in 0.6 M HNO₃. The Tb/Eu separation coefficient was ~5·10⁵. The yield of terbium was about 90%. Time of all steps was 1.5–2 h. The proposed procedure makes it possible to obtain no carrier added terbium radiotracers.

Terbium has four short-lived radioactive isotopes with mass numbers 149, 152, 155, and 161, which are promising for use in various fields of nuclear medicine, but this topic is currently at the research stage. Nowadays, the conditions for the production and recovery of these carrier free isotopes from irradiated targets, and preclinical and clinical trials of radiopharmaceuticals based on these nuclides are being actively studied. The results of the relevant reports are systematized in the presented review, which makes it possible to determine the main achievements and directions of research on terbium isotopes to date.

In present work, carbon nanomaterials (CNMs) are investigated as potential carriers of ⁶⁸Ga, which is widely used in positron emission tomography (PET) in nuclear medicine. Sorption behavior of ⁶⁸Ga was studied onto CNMs of various structures and chemical compositions: nanodiamonds (ND), reduced graphite oxide (rGiO) and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT), as well as their oxidized (ND–COOH) or reduced (rGiO–H, MWCNT–H) forms. The physicochemical properties of the nanoparticles were determined by high resolution transmission electron microscopy, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering and potentiometric titration. The content of ⁶⁸Ga in the solutions during the study of sorption was determined by gamma-ray spectrometry. The highest degree of ⁶⁸Ga sorption was observed on ND and ND–COOH samples, and the optimal sorption conditions were determined: an aqueous solution with a pH of 5–7, m/V ratio of 50 μg/mL and a room temperature (25 °C). The ⁶⁸Ga@ND and ⁶⁸Ga@ND–COOH conjugates were found to be stable in a model blood solution—phosphate-buffered saline with a pH of 7.3, containing 40 g/L of bovine serum albumin: ⁶⁸Ga desorption from these samples in 90 minutes was no more than 20% at 25 °C and up to 30% at 37 °C. Such a quantity of desorbed ⁶⁸Ga does not harm the body and does not interfere with the PET imaging process. Thus, ND and ND–COOH are promising CNMs for using as carriers of ⁶⁸Ga for PET diagnostics.