DEFINITION:

Technetium is the lightest chemical element with no stable isotopes, and therefore the lightest radioactive element. It is an artificial element with the atomic number 43 and is represented by the symbol Tc. The chemical properties of this silvery-grey, crystalline transition metal are halfway between rhenium and manganese. Its short-lived gamma-emitting nuclear isomer, Tc, is used in nuclear medicine for a wide variety of diagnostic tests. Tc is also utilized as a source of beta particles devoid of gamma rays.

PROPERTIES:

Technetium is a silvery-grey radioactive metal with an exterior similar to platinum. However, it is normally obtained as a grey powder. Its position in Group 7 of the periodic table is between rhenium and manganese, and as predicted by the periodic law, its properties are intermediate between those two elements.

SOURCES:

Technetium is not naturally present in the Earth's crust nor is it found in any minerals. Currently, it is solely produced through artificial nuclear fission reactions.

APPLICATION:

Technetium is used in radioactive isotope medical tests, for example, as a radioactive tracer that medical equipment can detect in the human body. It is well-suited to the role because it emits readily detectable 140 keV gamma rays, and its half-life is 6.01 hours. Klaus Schwochau's book "Technetium" lists 31 radiopharmaceuticals based on 99mTc for imaging and functional studies of the brain, myocardium, thyroid, lungs, liver, gallbladder, kidneys, skeleton, blood, and tumors.

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