Arnaud Guertin

Production of scandium-44 m and scandium-44 g with deuterons on calcium-44: cross section measurements and production yield calculations.

HIGHLIGHTS • Production of Sc-44 m, Sc-44 g and contaminants. • Experimental values determined using the stacked-foil technique. • Thick-Target production Yield (TTY) calculations. • Comparison with the TALYS code version 1.6.Among the large number of radionuclides of medical interest, Sc-44 is promising for PET imaging. Either the ground-state Sc-44 g or the metastable-state Sc-44 m can be used for such applications, depending on the molecule used as vector. This study compares the production rates of both Sc-44 states, when protons or deuterons are used as projectiles on an enriched Calcium-44 target. This work presents the first set of data for the deuteron route. The results are compared with the TALYS code. The Thick-Target production Yields of Sc-44 m and Sc-44 g are calculated and compared with those for the proton route for three different scenarios: the production of Sc-44 g for conventional PET imaging, its production for the new 3 γ imaging technique developed at the SUBATECH laboratory and the production of a Sc-44 m/Sc-44 g in vivo generator for antibody labelling.

Cross section measurements of deuteron induced nuclear reactions on natural tungsten up to 34 MeV.

(186g)Re is a β-/γ emitter of great interest for nuclear medicine. It has shown successful results on bone metastases palliation and has similar chemical properties as (99m)Tc, the most commonly used imaging agent. (186g)Re is routinely produced using rhenium target in nuclear reactor. Higher specific activity could be obtained using accelerators. In this paper, production cross section values are presented for the (nat)W(d,x)(186g)Re reaction up to 34MeV, using the stacked-foils method and gamma spectrometry. From this data set, the thick target production yield of (186g)Re is determined and compared with the validated values of the IAEA and also with the proton route. The production cross sections of the (nat)W(d,x)(183,182g,184m,184g,181)Re and (nat)W(d,x)(187)W reactions have also been determined. A good agreement is found with the literature. Our data are compared with the version 1.6 (December 2013) of the TALYS code which shows discrepancies both on the shape and on the amplitude for these deuteron induced reactions.

How to produce high specific activity tin-117 m using alpha particle beam

Tin-117m is an interesting radionuclide for both diagnosis and therapy, thanks to the gamma-ray and electron emissions, respectively, resulting from its decay to tin-117g. The high specific activity of tin-117m is required in many medical applications, and it can be obtained using a high energy alpha particle beam and a cadmium target. The experiments performed at the ARRONAX cyclotron (Nantes, France) using an alpha particle beam delivered at 67.4MeV provide a measurement of the excitation function of the Cd-nat(α,x)Sn-117m reaction and the produced contaminants. The Cd-116(α,3n)Sn-117m production cross section has been deduced from these experimental results using natural cadmium. Both production yield and specific activity as a function of the projectile energy have been calculated. These informations help to optimize the irradiation conditions to produce tin-117m with the required specific activity using α particles with a cadmium target.

232Th(d,4n)230Pa cross-section measurements at ARRONAX facility for the production of 230U

INTRODUCTION (226)Th (T1/2=31 min) is a promising therapeutic radionuclide since results, published in 2009, showed that it induces leukemia cells death and activates apoptosis pathways with higher efficiencies than (213)Bi. (226)Th can be obtained via the (230)U α decay. This study focuses on the (230)U production using the (232)Th(d,4n)(230)Pa(β-)(230)U reaction. METHODS Experimental cross sections for deuteron-induced reactions on (232)Th were measured from 30 down to 19 MeV using the stacked-foil technique with beams provided by the ARRONAX cyclotron. After irradiation, all foils (targets as well as monitors) were measured using a high-purity germanium detector. RESULTS Our new (230)Pa cross-section values, as well as those of (232)Pa and (233)Pa contaminants created during the irradiation, were compared with previous measurements and with results given by the TALYS code. Experimentally, same trends were observed with slight differences in orders of magnitude mainly due to the nuclear data change. Improvements are ongoing about the TALYS code to better reproduce the data for deuteron-induced reactions on (232)Th. CONCLUSIONS Using our cross-section data points from the (232)Th(d,4n)(230)Pa reaction, we have calculated the thick-target yield of (230)U, in Bq/μA·h. This value allows now to a full comparison between the different production routes, showing that the proton routes must be preferred.

Deuteron induced Tb-155 production, a theranostic isotope for SPECT imaging and auger therapy.

Several terbium isotopes are suited for diagnosis or therapy in nuclear medicine. Tb-155 is of interest for SPECT imaging and/or Auger therapy. High radionuclide purity is mandatory for many applications in medicine. The quantification of the activity of the produced contaminants is therefore as important as that of the radionuclide of interest. The experiments performed at the ARRONAX cyclotron (Nantes, France), using the deuteron beam delivered up to 34MeV, provide an additional measurement of the excitation function of the Gd-nat(d,x)Tb-155 reaction and of the produced terbium and gadolinium contaminants. In this study, we investigate the achievable yield for each radionuclide produced in natural gadolinium as a function of the deuteron energy. Other reactions are discussed in order to define the production route that could provide Tb-155 with a high yield and a high radionuclide purity. This article aims to improve data for the Gd-nat(d,x) reaction and to optimize the irradiation conditions required to produce Tb-155.