Radiopharmacy Practice Test 2025 – 400 Free Practice Questions to Pass the Exam

The amount of technetium-99m (Tc-99m) eluted from a molybdenum-99/technetium-99m generator can be influenced by several key factors, all of which contribute to the efficiency and effectiveness of the elution process.

The saline volume used for elution does not directly affect the total amount of Tc-99m available on the generator, but rather influences how much of that Tc-99m can be effectively washed off the generator in a single elution. While using too little saline may not effectively wash out all the Tc-99m and using too much saline could lead to dilution, the amount of Tc-99m initially present—determined by the amount of Mo-99 in the column—time elapsed since the last elution, and the elution efficiency remain critical factors.

Therefore, it is crucial to understand that while the saline volume can impact how the Tc-99m is harvested in one elution, it does not affect the intrinsic amount of Tc-99m that is present in the generator based on the activity of Mo-99 or the other compounding efficiencies.