Chemical durability of acid-treated Y₂O₃ microspheres for in situ radiotherapy of deep-seated cancer

Abstract

It is expected that chemically durable ceramic microspheres containing a large amount of yttrium 20-30 μm in diameter are useful for in situ radiotherapy, when they were previously activated to β-emitter by neutron bombardment. In the present study, chemical durability of untreated and acid-treated Y₂O₃ microspheres was investigated in salines buffered at pH-6 and pH-7. It was revealed that Y₂O₃ microspheres show high chemical durability in salines buffered at pH-6 was well as pH-7, when they are previously treated with acid solution. Thus acid-treated Y₂O₃ microspheres are expected to be useful for in situ radiotherapy of deep-seated cancer.