New ways to make molybdenum-99
Nov 23rd 2019ONE FEAR raised by those who oppose Britain’s leaving the European Union without a deal is that the import of radioactive isotopes for medicine would be at risk. These short-lived substances might, people worry, encounter bureaucratic obstacles that slowed down their delivery and thus increased the fraction lost to radioactive decay.Particular concern surrounds molybdenum-99 (99Mo), the workhorse of diagnostic nuclear-imaging. 99Mo, which has a half-life of just 66 hours, decays into a substance called technetium-99m (99mTc) that has a half-life of six hours. 99mTc emits gamma rays, so its location in the body is easy to see using appropriate cameras. And it can be incorporated into a variety of chemicals, called radiopharmaceuticals, that accumulate preferentially in different bodily organs. This lets doctors observe what is going on in those organs. About 80% of diagnostic nuclear-imaging of this kind involves 99mTc, so without a continuous supply of 99Mo to make it from, this whole branch of medicine would grind to a halt.Choose us for news analysis that respects your time and intelligenceSubscribe to The EconomistWe filter out the noise of the daily news cycle and analyse the trends that matterWe give you rigorous, deeply researched and fact-checked journalism. That’s why Americans named us their most trusted news source in 2017Available wherever you are—in print, digital and, uniquely, in audio, fully narrated by professional broadcastersThis website adheres to all nine of NewsGuard‘s standards of credibility and transparency.ORContinue reading this articleRegister with an email address