Through close collaboration among the Research Institute of Physical and Chemical Engineering of Nuclear Industry, the Nuclear Power Institute of China, and Gaotong Isotope — all subsidiaries of China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC), China has, for the first time, established a fully independent technological pathway for producing molybdenum-99 via highly-enriched molybdenum-98 reactor irradiation, and subsequently preparing gel-type mo99 - tc99m generators (molybdenum-98 → molybdenum-99 →technetium-99m). This achievement marks China's capability to independently supply technetium-99m on a large scale, breaking the long-standing reliance on imported isotopes.

Technetium-99m is a radioactive isotope and the decay product of molybdenum-99. It is one of the most widely used medical radioisotopes worldwide, applied in organ imaging and functional examinations, as well as in the diagnosis of malignant tumors and cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.

Previously, the Nuclear Power Institute of China has conducted research on producing molybdenum-99 via reactor irradiation of natural molybdenum (natural abundance of molybdenum-98 reached 24.29%). Building on earlier success in producing kilogram-scale molybdenum-100, the Research Institute of Physical and Chemical Engineering of Nuclear Industry obtained kilogram-scale molybdenum-98 with a natural abundance of 93%, significantly increasing the abundance of reactor-produced pre-irradiation isotope and laying a technical foundation for optimizing the specific activity of the product.

Gaotong Isotope used the molybdenum-98 from the Research Institute of Physical and Chemical Engineering of Nuclear Industry as the precursor, producing molybdenum-99 through HFERT reactor irradiation at the Nuclear Power Institute of China, and subsequently preparing gel-type mo99 - tc99m generators. The product activity increased substantially from an average of 1.5 Ci to 4.5 Ci per generator, meeting pharmacopeial quality standards.

Through this collaboration, both productivity and specific activity have increased more than threefold, significantly reducing the complexity of downstream chemical separation and purification, and greatly enhancing the market competitiveness of gel-type mo99 - tc99m generators. This achievement is of great significance for strengthening China's self-reliant supply of molybdenum-99/technetium-99m isotopes. Moving forward, the results will be further applied to Gaotong Isotopes' new-generation mo99 - tc99m generators, substantially boosting the capacity for independent, large-scale supply.