Nuclear data for production of ⁸⁸Y, ¹⁴⁰Nd, ¹⁵³Sm and ¹⁶⁹Yb via novel routes

Abstract

Therapeutic radionuclide / Nuclear reaction / Cross section / Excitation function / Integral yield / Radionuclidic puritySummary. The possibilities of production of the therapyrelated radionuclides 140 Nd, 153 Sm and 169 Yb, and of 88 Y, in no-carrier-added form were investigated. For 88 Y production the nuclear processes nat Sr( p, xn) 88 Y and nat Rb(α, xn) 88 Y over the energy ranges E p = 14 → 9 MeV and E α = 18 → 12 MeV, respectively, can be utilised, although the former reaction is superior, both in terms of yield and radionuclidic purity. For 140 Nd production the reactions 141 Pr( p, 2n) 140 Nd and nat Ce( 3 He, xn) 140 Nd were investigated in detail. The optimum energy ranges are E p = 30 → 15 MeV and E3 He = 35 → 20 MeV, respectively. Both processes yield high-purity 140 Nd. The former reaction, however, leads to a product yield about 17 times higher than the latter reaction, and is therefore to be preferred. In the case of 153 Sm, investigations were done on the 153 Eu(n, p) 153 Sm reaction with 14 MeV d(Be) neutrons as well as on the 150 Nd(α, n) 153 Sm reaction. The yield of the (n, p) reaction is very low, but the (α, n) reaction over the energy range E α = 25 → 15 MeV offers a good potential for production of no-carrier-added 153 Sm in quantities sufficient for therapeutic applications. Also for the radionuclide 169 Yb a novel route, viz. 169 Tm( p, n) 169 Yb reaction, was investigated. A critical comparison of this route with the commonly used (n, γ ) route, however, showed that, due to the much higher cost involved, the ( p, n) process should be utilised only when there is a real need of the high specific radioactivity product.

Radiochemistry

“…Such data have recently been measured for many yttrium isotopes (deuterons), 36 germanium isotopes (protons), 37 tin-112 (protons) 24 and for the [ 186 W(p,n) 186 Re] 38 reaction. Similar data have been measured 39 for nuclear reactions using natural strontium or rubidium to produce yttrium-88, and other reactions to make neodymium-140, samarium-153 and ytterbium-169.…”

Uses of alpha particles, especially in nuclear reaction studies and medical radionuclide production

“…[219]). In our laboratory the excitation function of the 140 Nd( ,n) 153 Sm reaction was investigated [220] and the result is promising. It could be used for production of no-carrier added ( ,p) 177m,g Lu, could also prove to be an interesting alternative production route, but so far it has not been investigated.…”

New trends in nuclear data research for medical radionuclide production

“…For this radionuclide, the use of the 150 Nd(α, n)-reaction on a highly enriched target appears to be of some promise. The measured excitation function [31] is shown in Fig. 2.…”