Radionuclide generator-based production of therapeutic 177Lu from its long-lived isomer 177mLu.

The reported method resulted in a 177Lu/ 177mLu activity ratio up to 3500 after the separation. This ratio is close to the lower end of 177Lu/177mLu activity ratios, attained currently during the direct route 177Lu production for clinical applications (i.e. 4000-10,000). This study forms the basis for further extending the liquid-liquid extraction based 177mLu-177Lu separation in order to lead to a commercial 177mLu/177Lu radionuclide generator.