Production of Sc medical radioisotopes with proton and deuteron beams

Abstract

Proton and deuteron beams (15.3 and 6.8 MeV, respectively) extracted from the PETtrace medical cyclotron at the Radiopharmaceuticals Production and Research Centre in the University of Warsaw, Heavy Ion Laboratory, 28 MeV protons from the C30 cyclotron at the National Centre for Nuclear Research, Świerk, near Warsaw and 33 MeV protons from the ARRONAX accelerator, Nantes were used to produce and investigate the medically interesting Sc radioisotopes. Both natural and isotopically enriched CaCO₃ and TiO₂ targets were used (⁴²Ca, ⁴³Ca, ⁴⁴Ca, ⁴⁸Ca, ⁴⁸Ti). The production efficiency and isotopic purity were determined and are reported here for the highest commercially available enrichments of the target material. The Thick Target Yield, Activities at the End of Bombardment (EOB) and the relative activities of produced impurities at EOB are reported for ⁴³Sc, ^44gSc, ^44mSc and ⁴⁷Sc produced with particle energies below 33 MeV.

Keywords: (43,44,47)Sc radioisotopes; Generated impurities level; Proton and deuteron beams; Radioisotope production; Thick Target Yield.