Evaluation of the cyclotron production of the positron emitters 43Sc, 44gSc and beta emitter 47Sc radionuclides: An emerging theranostic pair

Abstract

The theranostic pair of Scandium radionuclides: 43/44Sc positron emitters along with 47Sc beta emitter, has been gaining attention in the field of nuclear medicine over the last decades. The charged particle induced reactions, namely 43Ca(p,n)43Sc, 44Ca(p,n)44Sc, 44Ca(p,2n)43Sc, 46Ti(p,α)43Sc, 48Ca(p,2n)47Sc, 41K(α,2n)43Sc,40Ca(α,p)43Sc, 41K(α,n)44gSc and 44Ca(α,p)47Sc were evaluated for the high purity production of the 43Sc, 44gSc and 47Sc radionulicdes. Three Nuclear model codes (TALYS 1.9, ALICE-IPPE and EMPIRE 3.2) were used to check the consistency and reliability of the experimental excitation functions. A comprehensive evaluation methodology was used to generate the recommended cross sections, for each production route and their corresponding radioisotopic impurities. The final recommended cross sections are at last based on the statistical fitting of the resulting combination of both experimental data and theoretical nuclear model calculations. Thick target yields were calculated by using the recommended/reference cross sections. After a careful analysis and comparison of the evaluated production routes, namely 43Ca(p,n)43Sc, 44Ca(p,n)44gSc and 48Ca(p,2n)47Sc are suggested for the high purity cyclotron production of the 43Sc, 44gSc and 47Sc radionuclide respectively.