International Journal of Physics
and Research (IJPR)
ISSN 2250-0030
Vol. 3, Issue 3, Aug 2013, 13-20
© TJPRC Pvt. Ltd.
CROSS SECTIONS AND YIELDS CALCULATIONS FOR COPPER-64 PRODUCTION
INDUCED BY DEUTERONS AND PROTONS
MAHER NASER NAOOM1, KHALIL HADI AHMED2 & NAWAL FATAH NAJI3
1
AlSalam University College, Baghdad, Iraq
© TJPRC Pvt. Ltd.,
2
College of Science for Women, University of Baghdad, Iraq
3
Al-Kindy College of Medicine, University of Baghdad, Iraq
© TJPRC Pvt. Ltd.,
ABSTRACT
Copper -64 is a radionuclide suitable for labeling a wide range of radiopharmaceuticals for positron emission
tomography imaging as well as for local therapy of tumors. Among the possible methods for cyclotron production of
Copper-64 we investigate the deuteron irradiation on natural Zinc and Copper targets. The proton and deuteron irradiation
on Nickel isotopes and the proton irradiation on different isotopes of Zinc are considered in this paper. The total integral
yield based on the main published and approved experimental results of excitation functions were calculated.
KEYWORDS: 64Cu Production, Excitation Function, Integral Yield, Isotopes of Zinc
INTRODUCTION
The Copper-64 radioisotope (T1/2 = 12.7 h) has a large application in radiotherapy. As this isotope is a positron
emission radioisotope, it is known as a particularly effective radioisotope in PET (Positron Emission Tomography)
imaging study, this utility of Cu-64 depends on the chemical stability in water with proper energy and half-life as gamma
emitters. The Cu-64 can be produced in nuclear reactors by exposing suitable target materials to a neutron flux (usually
1013-1014 n/cm2.s) for an appropriate period of time. Accelerators are used to produce isotopes by bombarded appropriate
targets with beams of charged nuclei impinge on targets to produce the required isotope. The Cu-64 decays by three
modes, the β- emission, electron capture (EC) and β+ emission. The percentage intensity of these three types are as follows
Iβ- = 38.4% accompanying with Eβ-=0.58MeV, Iβ+ = 17.8% accompanying with Eβ+= 0.66MeV and IEC=43.8%
[ 1 ]
.The
electron capture is mostly founded on proton and deuteron irradiation of Zn and Ni targets by a cyclotron. In this work
theoretical excitation functions of 64Cu productions were calculated using different charged energetic particles. Theoretical
calculations of the production yields were done using SRIM (Stopping Range of Ions in Matter) code [ 2 ] to determine the
suggested possible optimum reaction in 64Cu production.
METHODS
The feasibility of the production of
64
Cu production by the reactions of
68,67.66
64
Cu via various nuclear reactions was investigated. Excitation functions of
Zn+p , nat,66 Zn+d , 64 Ni+p ,
62
Ni+α, 64 Ni+d , nat Cu+p, nat Cu+d, 64 Zn+n and 65
Cu+n were calculated using the available data in the international libraries up to 70 MeV. According to SRIM code, the
thick target integral yields were deduced using the calculated evaluated cross sections. A Matlab sub programs was used
to solve the following yield equation[3]:
Y=
)
14
Maher Naser Naoom, Khalil Hadi Ahmed & Nawal Fatah Naji
where Y is the activity of the product, NL is the Avogadro number, H is the enrichment (or isotopic abundance) of
the target nuclide, M is the mass number of the target element, I is the projectile current, dE/d(x) is the stopping power,
σ(E) is the cross section at energy E,  the decay constant of the product and t the time of irradiation.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
64
Cu Production by Proton Particles
68
Zn(p,x)64Cu reaction is beneficial energy range of proton energy producing
64
Cu from a
68
Zn target is 18 to
40MeV ,the maximum cross-section obtained according to Szelecsenyi [4] is 61.5 m b at 25.5 MeV as shown in figure
(1 ). The obtained production yield of
64
Cu using SRIM code in the chosen energy range is 39.1 GBq/C with optimum
energy range of 18-40 MeV as shown in figure (6). This reaction appears not to be suitable for the purpose of copper-64
production.
68
Zn(p,α n) reaction has a beneficial range of proton energy for producing
64
Cu from a
68
Zn target is 18 to 40
MeV of a maximum cross-section of 70 mb in 26 MeV as obtained using the two authors data Szelecsenyi et al [ 4,5 ]and
Levkovskij [6] figure (2). The obtained production yield of 64Cu in the chosen energy range, using the SRIM code is 40
GBq/C figure (6). This reaction appears to be very modest for the purpose of copper-64 production.
The excitation function data acquired for 67Zn(p, α) from Levkovskij [6] predicted that target irradiation lead to
64
the creation of
Cu with a maximum cross-section obtained of 41mb in 13.5 MeV energy figure (1) and theoretical thick-
target yields calculated with SRIM is 11.94 GBq/C figure (6). This reaction appears not to be suitable for the purpose of
copper-64 production.
The reaction
66
Zn(p,x) has a useful range of proton energy for producing
64
Cu from a
66
Zn target from 35 to
80MeV of a maxi mum cross-section of 71 mb in 44 MeV figure (1). The data of Szelecsenyi et al [4] was used to obtain
the production yield of 64Cu using SRIM in the chosen energy range is 88.7 GBq/C as shown in figure (7) . This reaction
appears to be suitable for the purpose of copper-64 production.
The
64
Ni (p,n) reaction is an important proton incident particle for producing
64
Cu from enriched Nickel-64.
Several authors (Levkoviskij[ 6 ], Tanaka et al[ 7], Antropov et al[ 8] , Rodriguez et al[9 ], Szelecsenyi et al[5], Adam
Rebeles et al[10 ] and Guzhovskij et al [10 ] ) in the energy range from 3.5 to 25 MeV
64
Ni (stable)the reaction for
producing 64Cu the maximum cross-section of 733 mb occurred in 10.5 MeV figure (5). The theoretical thick-target yield
obtained using SRIM is 141.9 GBq/C figure (7). This reaction appears to be good for the purpose of copper-64 production
The reaction
nat
Cu(p,x) has a useful range of proton energy for producing 64Cu from a natural copper target from
15 to 70 MeV of a maxi mum cross-section of 99.2 mb in 24 MeV figure (2). The data of Gruetter[12] and Michel et
al[13] was used to obtain the production yield of 64Cu using SRIM in the chosen energy range as equal to 88.7 GBq/C as
shown in figure (7) . This reaction appears to be good for the purpose of copper-64 production
64
Cu Production by Deuteron Irradiation
The reaction natZn(d,x) has a useful range for deuterons to produce the copper-64. According to Tarkanyi et al [14]
the range of energy for the production of 64Cu via this reaction was found to be from 20 to 40 MeV. The maximum crosssection obtained is 52 mb in 32 MeV figure (3). The calculated thick-target yield using SRIM is 42.2 GBq/C.figure (8).
This reaction appears to be very modest for the purpose of copper-64 production.
The reaction
66
Zn(d, α)64Cu as mentioned in the work of Hilgers [15] shows that the best range of deuterons
offered an energy range for the production of 64Cu was found to be in the 9-13 MeV. The maximum cross-section obtained
15
Cross Sections and Yields Calculations for Copper-64 Production Induced by Deuterons and Protons
in the 10.5 MeV was 25 mb figure (3), with a theoretical thick-target yield of 2.06 GBq/C figure (8). It’s clear that this
reaction is not useful for the purpose of copper-64 production.
The 64Ni (d,2n) reaction is an important deuteron incident particle for producing 64Cu from enriched Nickel-64.
Hermanne et al[16] and Daraban et al [17] showed that the best range of incident energy of 6-20 MeV gives a maximum
reaction cross-section for copper-64 production equal to 935 mb in14 MeV figure (4). The theoretical production yield is
calculated with SRIM and found to be 251 GBq/C figure (9). This reaction appears to be excellent for the purpose of
copper-64 production.
The reaction natCu(d,x) has a useful range for deuterons to produce the copper-64. According to.Simeckova et al
[18] and Takacs et al [19] the range of energy for the production of 64Cu via this reaction was found to be from 4 to 20
MeV. The maximum cross-section obtained is 223 mb in 7.5 MeV figure (4). The
calculated thick-target yield using
SRIM is 56.5 GBq/C.figure (8). This reaction appears to be very modest for the purpose of copper-64 production.
64
Cu Production by Alpha Irradiation
The induced alpha on the Nickel -62 target can produce the reaction
62
Ni(α,n+p). According to .Levkovskij [6]
,.Silva [20] and Tanaka [21], this reaction makes a maximum cross-section of 360 mb in the 34 MeV figure ( 4), in the
energy range of 20-45 MeV. Thus, the theoretical yield of this reaction in the mentioned range is 336. GBq/C.Figure (9).
CONCLUSIONS
The production of Cu-64 can be obtained using different nuclear reactions in table(1), for low proton energies (10
– 20 MeV) the reaction Ni-64(p,n) gives the largest yield (141 GBq/C) while for the other possible reactions as the natural
Copper and Zn-66, which occurs in an energy range greater than 20 MeV, the possible yields is in the order of 100 and 90
GBq/ C (figure 7).
The deutron reactions play an important role too in Copper production, for low deutron energy the yield of
natCu(d,x) is about 60 GBq/C. we observe an approximate yield for the reaction natZn(d,x) but for 20-40 MeV energy
range a maximum yield can be obtained by the reaction Ni64(d,2n) ( figure 8), also an important yield is observed by
alpha projectile using the reaction Ni62(α,n+p) as shown in figure 9.
Table 1: Nuclear Data of 64Cu Production via Various Nuclear Reactions
Reaction
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
Zn-68(p,x)
Zn-68(p,an)
Zn-67(p,a)
Zn-66(p,x)
Zn-66(D,a)
Zn-0(D,x)
Ni-64(p,n)
Ni-64(D,2n)
Ni-62(a,n+p)
Cu-0(p,x)
Cu-0(D,x)
Range
Mev
18-40
17-40
10-25
35-80
9-13
20-40
6-14
4-22
20-45
15-70
4-20
Max. cs
mb
61.5
73.8
39.5
70.4
25.9
52.7
746
935
289
91.2
228
Max. en
MeV
25.5
26
13.5
43.5
10.5
32.5
10.5
15
34.5
24.2
7.5
Total Yield
GBq/C
19.7
40.0535
11.9373
17.0164
2.0559
42.2107
141.8923
265.5011
336.8063
99.8669
56.5132
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Maher Naser Naoom, Khalil Hadi Ahmed & Nawal Fatah Naji
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F.Szelecsenyi,G.Blessing,S.M.Qaim,( Excitation functions of proton induced nuclear reaction on enriched Ni-61
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M.A.Avila-Rodriguez,J.A.Nyeb and R.J.Nickles,( Simultaneous production of high specific activity 64Cu and
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15. K.Hilgers,T.Stoll,Y.Skakun,H.H.Coenen and S.M.Qaim,(Cross-section measurements of the nuclear reactions
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Cross Sections and Yields Calculations for Copper-64 Production Induced by Deuterons and Protons
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APPENDICES
Figure 1: Cross Sections of Cu64 of the Three Reactions Zn68 (p,x),Zn66(p,x) and Zn67(p,a)
Figure 2: Cross Sections of the Reactions natCu(p,x)Cu64 and Zn68(p,a+n)Cu64
18
Maher Naser Naoom, Khalil Hadi Ahmed & Nawal Fatah Naji
Figure 3: Production of Cu-64 from the Reactions natZn(d,x) and Zn(66)
Figure 4: Production of Cu64 by the Reactions natCu (d,x), Ni62(A,N+P) and Ni64(d,2n)
Figure 5: Cross Sections of the Reaction Ni-64 (p,n) Cu-64
Cross Sections and Yields Calculations for Copper-64 Production Induced by Deuterons and Protons
Figure 6: Yield of the Three Reactions Zn67(p,a) Cu64
Zn68(p,x) and Zn(p,a+n)
Figure 7: Yield Of Cu64 of The Three Reactions Ni64 (p,n), Zn66 (p,x) and natCu (p,x)
Figure 8: Yield of the Reactions natZn (d,x) Cu-64,natCu(d,x)Cu-64 and Zn66 (d,a) Cu64
19
20
Maher Naser Naoom, Khalil Hadi Ahmed & Nawal Fatah Naji
Figure 9: Yield of the Reactions Ni62 (a,n+p) Cu64 and Ni64 (d,2n) Cu64