Separation of 90Nb from bulk yttrium target using two food derived alkaloids

AbstractnatY was irradiated with 34  MeV α-particles to produce90Nb. Separation of90Nb from bulk yttrium target was carried out using two naturally occurring alkaloids namely caffeine extracted from black tea leaves and piperine extracted from black pepper, both of which are commonly used in everyday household. In both the cases, SLX was opted as caffeine was insoluble in 2  M Na2SO4 and piperine in HCl of varying concentration.90Nb was preferentially extracted by caffeine and piperine precipitate and bulk yttrium remained in supernatant. DFT calculations suggest the preferential binding of90Nb to different binding sites on caffeine and piperine.
Source: Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry - Category: Nuclear Medicine Source Type: research