Decades of R&D Break Global Monopoly: China Develops Full Range of High-Purity Stable Isotopes for Frontier Science and Medical Use

According to domestic nuclear industry technology media, rows of sealed sample containers line laboratory racks at the Institute of Physical and Chemical Engineering of Nuclear Industry. Each vessel holds minute quantities of rare stable isotopes including silicon-28, nickel-64, germanium-76, xenon-124, xenon-129, ytterbium-176 and molybdenum-100, materials valued far higher by weight than gold. This expanding portfolio of stable isotopes underpins applications spanning aerospace microchips, early cancer screening, dark matter detection and quantum computing, with comprehensive independent separation technology forged through more than thirty years of continuous research by successive generations of laboratory specialists. The team has mastered separation processes for dozens of elemental stable isotopes to build a complete R&D pipeline, dismantling long-standing overseas market monopolies and shifting China’s global standing in this strategic material sector from follower to peer and industry leader.

Public misconceptions persist around isotopes, with many assuming all varieties emit hazardous radiation. Two distinct isotope categories exist: radioactive isotopes with unstable atomic nuclei that release ionising radiation, and non-radioactive stable isotopes with negligible radiation output. Everyday diagnostic and industrial applications rely entirely on the latter. Carbon-13 underpins breath tests for helicobacter pylori screening; boron-11 and germanium-72 are integral to smartphone semiconductor manufacturing; hyperpolarised xenon-129 delivers sharp lung imaging for magnetic resonance scans. Stable isotopes form irreplaceable raw materials for fundamental research, advanced manufacturing and nuclear medicine, yet extreme technical barriers confined full-scale production to a small number of foreign nations for decades. China’s domestic stable isotope sector launched late with substantial technical gaps, forcing full reliance on imported high-grade products before consistent progress at the institute reversed this supply landscape.

The institute under China National Nuclear Corporation launched stable isotope separation research in 1989, successfully verifying feasible extraction processes for xenon, zinc and tellurium isotopes. Premium-grade stable isotopes demand ultra-high isotopic abundance and chemical purity, requiring resolution of a series of complex technical bottlenecks for viable commercial production. Research teams sustained long periods of sparse staffing amid gruelling experimental cycles, maintaining consistent progress through persistent trial and refinement.

Sequential landmark breakthroughs have unfolded over the past fifteen years. Kilogram batches of silicon-28 with 99.5 per cent isotopic abundance were produced in 2010, followed by successful development of six xenon isotope variants in 2015. Dedicated carbon isotope production machinery and pilot lines for nuclear-grade depleted zinc-64 and high-purity germanium-76 were completed in 2021, laying solid technical foundations for scaled output. The 14th Five-Year Plan period brought accelerated technical milestones. Kilogram quantities of molybdenum-100 with 99 per cent abundance were synthesised domestically for the first time in 2023. Gram-scale nickel-64 exceeding 99 per cent purity was manufactured in 2024, carrying a market value hundreds of times greater than equivalent gold masses. Kilogram high-abundance molybdenum-98 and tellurium-130 were produced in 2025, alongside construction work commencing on the country’s largest industrial base for high-purity ytterbium-176 isotopes, marking a pivotal shift from laboratory-scale synthesis to formal industrial mass production.

Twenty-plus stable isotope products covering over ten elemental groups including carbon, xenon, zinc, molybdenum, germanium, ytterbium, nickel and tellurium are now fully developed, supported by mature end-to-end R&D and fabrication capacity. The institute has delivered complete industrialisation pathways, scaling production from gram laboratory samples to kilogram commercial batches and eliminating reliance on external suppliers.

All research programmes are structured to align stable isotope development with four core strategic fields: fundamental particle physics, clinical healthcare, frontier digital technology and advanced industrial manufacturing, yielding high-performance flagship materials for each vertical segment.

China Jinping Underground Laboratory, situated 2,400 metres beneath mountain terrain in Liangshan, Sichuan, hosts world-leading dark matter and neutrino experiments investigating the fundamental composition of the universe. High-purity germanium-76 and molybdenum-100 isotopes form the core experimental medium, previously sourced entirely from foreign suppliers. Rapid advances in germanium-76 scaling capability in 2022 enabled hundred-kilogram domestic output to fully sustain laboratory experimental schedules, while kilogram-grade molybdenum-100 production in 2023 unlocked long-term continuity for underground particle research.

Stable isotopes are driving transformative progress in precision nuclear medicine. Ytterbium-176 acts as the feedstock for lutetium-177, a recognised theranostic radionuclide whose beta radiation targets malignant cells linked to prostate, breast and neuroendocrine cancers. The institute produced gram-scale ytterbium-176 and qualified lutetium-177 radionuclides from late 2023. Construction of the national flagship industrial base for high-abundance ytterbium-176 started at Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City in October 2025, designed to deliver annual kilogram output and terminate overseas supply monopolies in clinical radiopharmaceutical raw materials.

Nickel-64 serves as the precursor for copper-64, a positron emission tomography tracer that pinpoints neuroendocrine tumours, breast malignancies and multiple myeloma lesions. Full closed-loop manufacturing workflows from nickel-64 to copper-64 were established domestically in 2024, with output purity and throughput exceeding international industry benchmarks. Hyperpolarised xenon-129 addresses imaging limitations of conventional CT scans for pulmonary cavities, enabling precise identification of early lung lesions, and the institute remains the sole domestic supplier capable of consistent xenon-129 delivery for medical facilities nationwide.

Within semiconductor and high-end manufacturing, silicon-28 enhances microchip operational performance. The institute pioneered kilogram-scale production of 99.5 per cent abundance silicon-28 in 2008, later advancing processes to yield silicon-28 with purity above 99.99 per cent to support domestic quantum computing research groups. Depleted zinc-64 deployed across nuclear power infrastructure reduces occupational radiation exposure during scheduled reactor maintenance cycles.

Rapid industrial upgrading has generated surging cross-sector demand for high-purity stable isotopes across cutting-edge technology segments, accelerating expansion of the whole supply chain ecosystem. Ongoing technical refinement work will deepen integration between isotope separation workflows, precision process control and integrated agronomic and mechanical production systems. Thirty years of sustained laboratory advancement has built end-to-end independent supply chains for a vital strategic material, removing external supply constraints for national research, healthcare and industrial priorities. Each sealed sample container carries not only refined stable isotopes, but also strengthened domestic technological self-reliance and expanded access to life-saving medical diagnostics for communities nationwide.