High yield production of the medical radioisotope 167Tm by the 167Er(d,2n) reaction.

As part of our systematic comparison of (p,n) and (d,2n) reactions, the excitation functions of the (167)Er(d,2n)(167)Tm production reaction and reactions leading to Tm radio-impurities were investigated up to 20 MeV. A stacked foil irradiation technique and γ-ray spectroscopy is used. The measured excitation functions are compared with results of ALICE-D, EMPIRE-D and TALYS reaction model codes and with data from our earlier investigations on natural Er. Thick target yields and contamination levels are discussed. A comparison with other charged particle production routes for (167)Tm shows that deuteron induced reactions are not competitive.

Limitation of the long-lived 121Te contaminant in production of 123I through the 124Xe(p,x) route.

The 13.2 h half-life radioisotope (123)I is widely used in clinical nuclear medicine diagnosis. At present it is mostly produced in nca form by proton irradiation of highly enriched (124)Xe in dedicated gas target set-ups and relying on the decay chain (123)Cs-(123)Xe-(123)I. Depending on the irradiation conditions contamination with long-lived (121)Te, a daughter product of the co-produced rather short lived (121)I, occurs and can limit the useful shelf life of the (123)I solution. Excitation function of the (124)Xe(p,α)(121)I, (124)Xe(p,2n)(123)Cs and (124)Xe(p,2p)(123)Xe reactions are measured up to 35 MeV using the stacked gas cell technique and high-resolution γ-ray spectrometry. The experimental data were compared with the earlier literature values, with new results of the ALICE-IPPE and EMPIRE-II codes and with the data taken from the TENDL-2009 database. Existing discrepancies in cross-section data are largely solved and new recommended values are proposed. From fits to the new excitation curves integral (123)I batch yields and (121)Te contaminations for realistic production conditions are derived. Optimization of irradiation and cooling times and energy degradation in the target can strongly influence the contamination level.

Study of the excitation function for the deuteron induced reaction on 64Ni(d,2n) for the production of the medical radioisotope 64Cu.

The production of (64)Cu, a radioisotope of considerable interest for the application in nuclear medicine for PET imaging and radioimmunotherapy, was investigated by deuteron bombardment of enriched (64)Ni target up to E(d)=20.5 MeV. The experimental excitation function for the reaction (64)Ni(d,2n)(64)Cu was measured using the stacked foil irradiation technique followed by HPGe gamma-ray analysis at 1346 keV and is compared with earlier literature values. Cross-section data for the (64)Ni(d,p)(65)Ni reaction are determined for the first time. Thick target yields are derived and compared with results of other production routes.