Calculated cyclotron-based scandium-47 production yields via ⁴⁸Ca(p, 2n)⁴⁷Sc nuclear reaction

Scandium-47 is a promising particle emitter that has been suggested as a candidate for radiotheranostics. Thus, better understanding of optimum irradiation parameters, radioactivity yields and possible impurities during its production is of paramount importance. The theoretical calculation of the end-of-bombardment (EOB) results is performed using Microsoft Excel following the calculation of the excitation function obtained from the TALYS software and the stopping power obtained from the SRIM software can be accessed for free. According to the TALYS code calculations, the threshold energy for ⁴⁷Sc production was 8.39 MeV, whereas the maximum cross-section (879 mbarn) occurred at proton incident energy of 17 MeV. The calculated EOB yield for ⁴⁸Ca(p,2n)⁴⁷Sc nuclear reaction at 60 MeV proton energy was found to be 449 MBq/μAh, which was suitable quality for typical radionuclide production. Besides, three radionuclides, i.e. ⁴⁸Sc, ⁴⁶Sc and ⁴⁷Ca were predicted to be the main impurities in the ⁴⁷Sc production. However, in order to minimize the production of ⁴⁸Sc, ⁴⁶Sc and ⁴⁷Ca impurities radionuclide the safest and optimum proton energy should be between 23 and 30 MeV, which can be achieved using the available 26 MeV cyclotron. This study can be used as a reference for future ⁴⁷Sc production when proton beams of up to 60 MeV are employed. (paper)