Ion-Imprinted Polymer Concept for Selective Extraction of ⁹⁰Y and ¹⁵²Eu for Medical Applications and Nuclear Power Plant Monitoring

The metal ion imprinted concept has been used to imprint dipicolinic derivative coordination cages in styrene-based polymeric material. This resin displays very high selectivity for yttrium and lanthanides. Distribution coefficients determined for ⁸⁸Y and ⁸⁵Sr emphasize the possibility for the material to be used as chromatographic support for direct production of medical grade ⁹⁰Y from a ⁹⁰Sr source. Europium has been successfully extracted by the resin from a large volume of tap water. Thus the material could be used for radiation monitoring of nuclear power plants, particularly regarding the determination of radiolanthanides in the cooling system.