A new osmium-191 leads to iridium-191m generator.

A new osmium-191 leads to iridium-191m generator suitable for first-pass radionuclide angiocardiography has been developed. This generator system allows repeated elutions of 4.96-sec iridium-191m from its 15.4-day Os- 191 parent. The Os-191 is loaded on an anion-exchange column (AGMP-1) and Ir- 191m eluted with 0.9% NaCl at pH 1. Each elution (0.6 to 1 ml) of the generator yields about 7 to 10% Ir-191m and gives 0.003-0.008% of Os-191 breakthrough. Toxicity studies of the generator eluate carried out in animals support the safety of using iridium-191m in humans. The long shelf-life of the generator (approximately equal to 2 wk) will allow medical centers to use Ir- 191m for routine clinical diagnosis. Iridium-191m obtained by this method should find additional useful applications in nuclear medicine.