Calculated cyclotron-based scandium-47 production yields via 48Ca(p, 2n)47Sc nuclear reaction

Abstract

Scandium-47 is a promising particle emitter that has been suggested as a candidate for radiotheranostics. Thus, better understanding of optimum irradiation parameters, radioactivity yields and possible impurities during its production is of paramount importance. The theoretical calculation of the end-of-bombardment (EOB) results is performed using Microsoft Excel following the calculation of the excitation function obtained from the TALYS software and the stopping power obtained from the SRIM software can be accessed for free. According to the TALYS code calculations, the threshold energy for 47Sc production was 8.39 MeV, whereas the maximum cross-section (879 mbarn) occurred at proton incident energy of 17 MeV. The calculated EOB yield for 48Ca(p,2n)47Sc nuclear reaction at 60 MeV proton energy was found to be 449 MBq/μAh, which was suitable quality for typical radionuclide production. Besides, three radionuclides, i.e. 48Sc, 46Sc and 47Ca were predicted to be the main impurities in the 47Sc production. However, in order to minimize the production of 48Sc, 46Sc and 47Ca impurities radionuclide the safest and optimum proton energy should be between 23 and 30 MeV, which can be achieved using the available 26 MeV cyclotron. This study can be used as a reference for future 47Sc production when proton beams of up to 60 MeV are employed.