Estimation of the Production Cross Sections of Medical 61Cu Radioisotope Using EXIFON Code
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.56919/usci.2544.026Keywords:
Copper-61, Shell structure effect, EXIFON 2.0 Code, Positron emission TomographyAbstract
PET relies on short-lived radionuclides, such as 18F-FDG, but their limited half-lives limit clinical applications. Copper-61 (⁶¹Cu), a promising non-standard positron emitter with a T1/2 of 3.33 hours, offers advantages for imaging slower biological processes. This study evaluates the cross-sections for ⁶¹Cu production on enriched nickel targets: ⁶¹Ni(p,n)⁶¹Cu and ⁶²Ni(p,2n)⁶¹Cu, using EXIFON 2.0 code. The calculations incorporated shell structure effects and compared the results with those of other studies. For ⁶¹Ni(p,n)⁶¹Cu, the cross-section, showing reasonable comparison of 3.3% with measured data up to 11 MeV but diverging at higher energies, likely due to pre-equilibrium contributions. Comparative analysis revealed ⁶¹Ni(p,n)⁶¹Cu as the optimal route for ⁶¹Cu production, yielding higher cross sections at lower energies, thereby reducing costs and complexity. This work underscores the viability of ⁶¹Ni(p,n)⁶¹Cu for cyclotron-based ⁶¹Cu production and supports its potential for PET imaging.
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