Calculation of diagnostic radioisotope production of iodine-120g through 120Te (p, n) 120gI reaction using Talys and Geant4 nuclear codes

Iodine-g120 radioisotope with a half-life of 1.35 hours due to positron emission is used in PET imaging. This radioisotope is produced through various reactions. In this study, the 120Te(p,n)120gI reaction has been simulated using Geant4-toolkit, SRIM and Talys codes to calculate proton range, cross section and production yield of iodine-120g. The range of protons in the target of tellurium-120 was calculated using Geant4-toolkit and SRIM codes to be 725.59 and 731.68 micrometers at 14 MeV energy, respectively. The values of proton range, cross section and production yield are compared with experimental data. The cross-sectional values were calculated with Geant4-toolkit and Talys codes in the energy range of 6.5 to 36 MeV and compared with the experimental values. The maximum cross-section was obtained using Geant4-toolkit equal to 667.99 mbarn at 14 MeV and Talys code equal to 537.83 mbarn at 14.5 MeV. The yield of iodine-g120 production using these codes in energy of 14 MeV has been calculated as 642.73 and 346.94 MBqμA-1h-1, respectively.