A Theoretical and Experimental study of the Theranostic Radionuclide Scandium-47 in Karaj Cyclotron

the Scandium-47 shows undertaking capability in therapeutic radionuclide, particularly in the single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) technique. In this study, for the production of the 47Sc, the proton interaction on natural titanium was investigated by the Karaj cyclotron. At first, the excitation functions for the production of 47Sc and accompanying impurities via proton bombardment of titanium targets were evaluated by three nuclear codes, TALYS-1.9, ALICE/ASH, and EMPIRE-3.2.2. The target thickness for the best range of suggested energy estimated through the stopping power using the SRIM-2013 code. The theoretical yields for each reaction were calculated using Simpson's integral. The natTi foil was irradiated by a 29.5 MeV incident proton beam in the Karaj Cyclotron.  The total current irradiated on the target was 5 μA·h at the end of the bombardment. The liquid-liquid extraction (LLX) method was employed for the separation of radiochemical impurities. Quality control was performed by γ-ray spectrometry. The separation yield of scandium-47 was 95%. The results showed good agreement with simulated and published experimental data.