0000000000354283
AUTHOR
Bernard Ponsard
Determination of impurity distributions in ingots of solar grade silicon by neutron activation analysis
AbstractIn a series of crystallization experiments, the directional solidification of silicon was investigated as a low cost path for the production of silicon wafers for solar cells. Instrumental neutron activation analysis was employed to measure the influence of different crystallization parameters on the distribution of 3d-metal impurities of the produced ingots. A theoretical model describing the involved diffusion and segregation processes during the solidification and cooling of the ingots could be verified by the experimental results. By successive etching of the samples after the irradiation, it could be shown that a layer of at least 60 μm of the samples has to be removed to get r…
Separation of 90Nb from zirconium target for application in immuno-PET
Abstract Fast progressing immuno-PET asks to explore new radionuclides. One of the promising candidates is 90Nb. It has a half-life of 14.6 h that allows visualizing and quantifying biological processes with medium and slow kinetics, such as tumor accumulation of antibodies and antibodies fragments or drug delivery systems and nanoparticles. 90Nb exhibits a positron branching of 53% and an average kinetic energy of emitted positrons of E mean =0.35 MeV. Currently, radionuclide production routes and Nb V labeling techniques are explored to turn this radionuclide into a useful imaging probe. However, efficient separation of 90Nb from irradiated targets remains in challenge. Ion exchange based…
Labeling and preliminary in vivo assessment of niobium-labeled radioactive species: A proof-of-concept study.
Abstract The application of radionuclide-labeled biomolecules such as monoclonal antibodies or antibody fragments for imaging purposes is called immunoscintigraphy . More specifically, when the nuclides used are positron emitters, such as zirconium-89, the technique is referred to as immuno-PET . Currently, there is an urgent need for radionuclides with a half-life which correlates well with the biological kinetics of the biomolecules under question and which can be attached to the proteins by robust labeling chemistry. 90 Nb is a promising candidate for in vivo immuno-PET , due its half-life of 14.6h and low β + energy of E mean =0.35MeV per decay. 95 Nb on the other hand, is a convenient …