# Radionuclide generators and cold kits

Source: https://onco.cc/technologies/radionuclide-generators-kits/  
OnCo record `radionuclide-generators-kits` (Technology). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

Bench-top devices that 'milk' a short-lived isotope from a long-lived parent, plus vials of ready-to-label ligand. How most hospitals make PSMA and somatostatin PET tracers without a cyclotron.

## Summary

Ge-68/Ga-68 generators (Eckert & Ziegler GalliaPharm, IRE ELiT Galli Eo, ITG) elute Ga-68 for 6-12 months; Mo-99/Tc-99m generators (Curium, Lantheus, GE) underpin SPECT; kits such as Illuccix and Gozellix (Telix), Locametz (Novartis) and NETSPOT (Novartis/AAA) let a radiopharmacy label PSMA-11 or DOTATATE in minutes. Generator supply shortages (Ge-68 in 2018-19) and kit versus unit-dose economics shape tracer access.

## Fields

- Kind: Technology
- Status: standard-of-care
- Last checked: 2026-09-08
- Tags: supporting
- Principle: Parent isotope adsorbed on a column decays to the daughter, which is eluted on demand; cold kits contain lyophilised chelator-ligand and buffer for one-step labelling.
- Strengths: Cyclotron-free access to PET tracers; Decentralised, low-cost labelling
- Limitations: Limited activity per elution (few patients per day); Generator supply concentrated in a few producers; Regulatory status of kits varies by country

## Sources

- 21 CFR Part 211: current good manufacturing practice for finished pharmaceuticals: https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/chapter-I/subchapter-C/part-211

## Connected records

- fronts: [Radiopharmaceuticals & Theranostics](https://onco.cc/fronts/radiopharma/)
- technologies: [Cyclotron isotope production (F-18, Ga-68, Cu-64, Zr-89, At-211)](https://onco.cc/technologies/cyclotron-isotope-production/), [Medical cyclotrons, hot cells, and synthesis modules](https://onco.cc/technologies/medical-cyclotrons-synthesis-modules/), [PET tracer manufacturing and distribution](https://onco.cc/technologies/pet-tracer-manufacturing/), [PSMA PET](https://onco.cc/technologies/psma-pet/), [Research reactors for medical isotopes (Mo-99, Lu-177, I-131)](https://onco.cc/technologies/research-reactor-isotope-production/), [Somatostatin receptor PET (68Ga/64Cu-DOTATATE)](https://onco.cc/technologies/sstr-pet/), [SPECT & bone scan](https://onco.cc/technologies/spect/)
- companies: [Curium](https://onco.cc/companies/curium/), [Eckert & Ziegler](https://onco.cc/companies/eckert-ziegler/), [IRE (Institut national des Radioéléments)](https://onco.cc/companies/ire/), [Lantheus](https://onco.cc/companies/lantheus/), [Novartis](https://onco.cc/companies/novartis/), [Telix Pharmaceuticals](https://onco.cc/companies/telix/)

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