Novel production pathways for the 64Cu / 67Cu theranostic pair through natZn(n, x) reactions

This repository contains all raw gamma-ray spectra analyzed for the present manuscript, as well as calibration spectra. Further details and analysis code are available on reasonable request. 

The nuclear decay properties of the 64,67Cu radionuclides are favorable for clinical applications, with 64Cu currently being employed for PET imaging. The combined use of 64Cu with 67Cu as a theranostic pair may enable highly personalized therapeutic treatment, with real-time monitoring of dose delivery. In this study, the natZn(n,x) reactions have been investigated as novel production pathways for the 64,67Cu isotopes. The experiment was performed at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s 88-Inch Cyclotron, producing fast neutrons through the deuteron breakup process using deuteron beams of 16 MeV and 33 MeV. This study reports spectrum-averaged cross sections for the 64,67Cu isotopes, as well as for 20 additional reaction products from neutron irradiation of natural zinc, zirconium, indium, yttrium and aluminum, more than half of which are measured for the first time. The well-characterized monitor reactions of 89Y(n,2n)88Y, 27Al(n,x)24Na, and natZr(n,x)89Zr were employed to determine the neutron fluence, using the recommendations from the IRDFF-II dosimetry library, and all activities were measured through γ-ray spectroscopy using a high-purity germanium detector. The results are compared to previous experiments from the EXFOR and TENDL-2019 databases, and calculations using ALICE-2017, CoH-3.5.3, EMPIRE-3.2.3, and TALYS-1.9. This work shows that natZn(n,x)64,67Cu is a viable pathway for producing these isotopes, and offers a potential ”tunable” ratio of 64Cu:67Cu for various applications.