Cyclotron production of 123Xe and high purity 123I: a comparison of tellurium targets

Cyclotron production of 123Xe from isotopically enriched tellurium targets was evaluated as a source of high purity 123I for radiopharmaceutical applications. The 123Te(3He, 3n)123Xe and the 124Te(3He, 4n)123Xe nuclear reactions have cross section peaks of 178 mb and 162 mb at 26 MeV and 45 MeV, respectively. The 123Xe thick target production yields for the reactions were 6.44 mCi/μAhr and 7.16 mCi/μAhrm respectively, as compared to >5 mCi/μAhr for the 122Te(4He, 3n)123Xe reaction. The radionuclide impurity of 125I in the 123I can be kept to <= 0.2% in all cases. Considering the production yield and the cost per mg of enriched 124Te, the 124Te(3He, 4n)123Xe reaction is acceptable, although it has not been used in the past. (author)