Preparation of radioactive source by polymerization of microemulsions

A new method for preparation of radioactive source by polymerization of microemulsions was introduced. Methyl methacrylate (MMA)/hydroxyethyl methylacrylate (HEMA)/water (H₂O) was selected as the microemulsions system. The ternary phase diagram was figured out by the conventional titration technique, and the influences of temperature and N, N-dimethyl toluidine (DMT) as the accelerator on the polymerization were investigated. Then, line sources of ⁹⁹Mo and ¹²⁵I were obtained by polymerization of MMA (DMT)/HEMA/H₂O soap-free inverse microemulsions, and the radioactivity distribution was measured. The results showed that preparation of radioactive source by polymerization of microemulsions was a good method. (authors)