Medical radioisotope is a small quantity of radioactive substance used for the purpose of diagnostic and therapy of various diseases. In Malaysia, the emerging of new nuclear medicine centers or institutions in both government and private sectors rose abruptly for the past few years. Currently, there are no data available on the usage and demand of these medical radioisotope or radiopharmaceuticals. The aim of this study is to assess current medical radioisotopes and radiopharmaceuticals usage and also to provide data on current medical radioisotope and radiopharmaceuticals demand for both private and government hospitals or institutions in Malaysia. A survey for a period of 3 months was conducted across Malaysia. The survey was divided into five (5) main parts and it was distributed among healthcare professionalsinvolved working with medical radioisotope and radiopharmaceuticals in private, government and university based hospitals or institutions and was distributed manually either by hand, mail ore-mail.Data is presented in either pie chart or bar chart. Survey results found out that the highest demand and the highest usage among all radioisotopes are Technetium-99m and radioiodine isotopes such as the iodine-131, iodine-131 MIBG, iodine-123 and iodine-123 MIBG. Technetium-99m is the backbone of nuclear medicine whereby more than 80% of Nuclear Medicine services utilize this radioisotope. Technetium-99m supply chain is unstable globally and in coming future, two main reactors that produce 60% of world Molybdenum-99 will shut down and the supply of molybdenum-99 will be disrupted. In radioiodine services, currently, Iodine-123 can’t be obtained in Malaysia and neighboring countries due to its short half-life. Iodine-123 is useful in diagnostic of thyroid related diseases. As for PET services, the highest demands are F-18 FDG and gallium-68 Generator. It is important for Malaysia to self-produced medical radioisotope and radiopharmaceuticals to meet the local market demand.
PET/CT Scan with obGa-labelled analogs is of increasing interest in Nuclear Medicine and currently
is being performed all over the world. However, such labeling procedure requires high purity and
concentrated solutions of°sGa. Here we report the purification and concentration of the eluate of
SnOi-Based obGe/obGa generators via the anion exchange method. Three different anion columns were
selected to purify and concentrate the6SGa eluat.es which are Chromafix, Oasis WAX and AG 1-X8
columns. The different anion columns were compared and evaluated in terms of their capability in
adsorption and desorption of ""Ga from, the generator. While the optimum molarity of Hydrocholric
Acid (HCl) for highest 6dGa retention was also determined starting from the ranges of fM to 7M of
HCl. The results showed that the percentage of 68Ga retention or adsorption .started to be plateau at
molarity of 5.5M for all three anion cartridges. One-way ANOVA analysis proved that there is no
significant difference between 5.5M with 6.0M, 6.5M and 7.0M which means that the retention of
gallium-68 is equal at those molarities. At 5.5M, Chromafix and Oasis WAX cartridges showed the
highest retention of gallium-68 which is 98.30%. The lowest 6"Ga retention was gained by AG 1-X8
column which is 97.07%'. While for desorption of 6bGa, the highest percentage was obtained by using
Oasis WAX cart/ridges which, is 70.f9% followed by Chromafix which, is 70.36%. The lowest desorption
of gallium-68 was obtained by using AG 1-X8 column which is only 58.56%. Therefore, from this
study, the most suitable cartridge and HCl molarity that should be applied in purification and
concentration of Gallium-68 eluate fromÿ a SnOs Based °*Ge/*Ga generator is Oasis® WAX column
with a HCl molarity of 5.5M respectively.
Medical radioisotope is a small quantity of radioactive substance used in safe, cost effective, for the
purpose of diagnostic and therapy of various diseases. In Malaysia, the emerging of new nuclear
medicine centers or institutions in both government and private sectors rose abruptly for the past few
years. Currently, there are no data available on the usage and demand of medial radioisotope or
radiopharmaceuticals. Understanding the usage trending and demand of radiopharmaceuticals and
medical radioisotope is essential when related to technology changes in order to meet the market size
of these radiopharmaceuticals. Survey result found out that the highest demand and the highest usage
among all radioisotopes are Technetium-99m and Radioiodine isotopes such as the Iodine-131, Iodine-
131 MIBG, Iodine-123 and Iodine-123 MIBG. Currently, most of the medical isotopes and
radiopharmaceuticals are currently imported. Technetium-99m is the backbone of nuclear medicine
whereby more than 80% of Nuclear Medicine services utilize this radioisotope. Technetium-99m supply
chain is unstable globally and in coming future, two main reactors (Canada & Holland) that produces
60% of world Molybdenum-99 will shut down the operation and supply of Molybdenum-99 will be
disrupted. As for radioiodine services, currently, Iodine-123 can't be obtained in Malaysia and
neighboring countries due to its short half-life. Iodine-123 is useful in diagnostic of thyroid related
diseases. As for PET services, the highest demands are F-18 FDG and Gallium-68 Generator for the
moment. However the survey data still did not, include most of the PET centers in the Klang Valley,
northern area (Penang) and the new upcoming PET center in Southern Region (Malacca and Johor).
It is important for Malaysia to self-produced medical radioisotope and radiopharmaceuticals to meet
the market and local demand of these medical isotopes.