Nuclear model analysis of excitation functions of α-particle induced reactions on In and Cd up to 60MeV with relevance to the production of high specific activity 117mSn

Production of 117mSn and 119mSn by photonuclear reactions on natural antimony

Natural antimony targets were irradiated in a 60 MeV bremsstrahlung beam and gamma spectrometric measurements were performed. The goal was to establish the yield of 117mSn, a radionuclide with great potential for application in medicine. Considering that 117mSn is predominantly produced through a photonuclear reaction in which an charged particle is emitted (121Sb(γ,p3n)), the yield of this tin isotope is much lower than the yields of several antimony isotopes produced in (γ,xn) reactions. It has been estimated that photonuclear reactions on natural antimony could produce 117mSn activities needed for therapeutic applications, with accelerators having electron currents of the order of mA. For the used bremsstrahlung energy of 60 MeV, it was estimated how much 119mSn activity can be expected when exposing the antimony target.

Production of 68Ge, 68Ga, 67Ga, 65Zn, and 64Cu important radionuclides for medical applications: theoretical model predictions for α-particles with 66Zn at ≈10–40 MeV

Theoretical predictions were made using TALYS-1.95(G) and EMPIRE 3.2 reaction-model codes for 69Ge, 67Ge, and medically used 68Ge, 67Ga, 68Ga, 65Zn, 64Cu radionuclides produced in the interaction of α-projectile with 66Zn-target at 10–40 MeV α-energies. Pearson’s statistical coefficients showed moderate to strong positive correlations between the theoretically predicted and experimentally measured production cross sections for radionuclides with practical medical applications. Furthermore, the present results indicated that a medium-sized cyclotron and a single α + 66Zn system (projectile + target system) might be an option for optimized production of 68Ge, 68Ga, 67Ga, 65Zn, and 64Cu radionuclides.

Effects of combining some theoretical models in the cross-section calculations of some alpha-induced reactions for natSb

In cases where it is not possible to obtain the cross-section values experimentally due to various factors, the importance of obtaining them with theoretical models has been explained in many studies available in the literature. In this context, the comparison of the cross-section values obtained by using the theoretical models with the experimental data will also be very beneficial for updating and developing these models. Existing studies, which also serve this purpose, have given inspiration to this study and it is aimed to examine the effects of the simultaneous use of the alpha optical model potentials and the level density models on the cross-section calculations for some alpha-particle-induced reactions on natural antimony. The effects of theoretical models on the cross-section calculations were investigated by comparing the obtained calculation results with the experimental data taken from the literature. The TALYS code, which is frequently preferred in the literature, was used in all calculations within the scope of this study. For the comparison of the calculated results with the experimental data, not only a visual analysis by graphing the outcomes, but also a mean-weighted-deviation calculation was used, and the findings were interpreted by accounting for both of them.

An overview of nuclear data standardisation work for accelerator-based production of medical radionuclides in Pakistan

The standardisation of nuclear reaction cross section data is an integral part of optimisation of production routes of medical radionuclides. The production cross sections are available for the reactor and cyclotron produced radionuclides to be used for diagnostics or therapeutic procedures. The types of nuclear data needed, and the sources of their availability are summarized. The method of standardisation of charged-particle data is briefly described. A historical overview of research work in Pakistan in this direction is given. Examples of a few medically important radionuclides, such as 64Cu, 86Y, 89Zr, 103Pd, 186Re, etc., whose data were standardised and evaluated are highlighted. Calculated thick target yields from the recommended data are given. Some new directions in the nuclear data research are outlined.

Therapeutic Radiometals: Worldwide Scientific Literature Trend Analysis (2008⁻2018)

Academic journals have published a large number of papers in the therapeutic nuclear medicine (NM) research field in the last 10 years. Despite this, a literature analysis has never before been made to point out the research interest in therapeutic radionuclides (RNs). For this reason, the present study aims specifically to analyze the research output on therapeutic radiometals from 2008 to 2018, with intent to quantify and identify global trends in scientific literature and emphasize the interdisciplinary nature of this research field. The data search targeted conventional (¹³¹I, ⁹⁰Y, ¹⁷⁷Lu, ¹⁸⁸Re, ¹⁸⁶Re, ¹⁵³Sm, ⁸⁹Sr, ¹⁸⁶Er) and emergent (⁶⁷Cu, ⁴⁷Sc, ²²³Ra, ¹⁶⁶Ho, ¹⁶¹Tb, ¹⁴⁹Tb, ²¹²Pb/²¹²Bi, ²²⁵Ac, ²¹³Bi, ²¹¹At, ^117mSn) RNs. Starting from this time frame, authors have analyzed and interpreted this scientific trend quantitatively first, and qualitatively after.