Feb 26 – 28, 2024
Trento
Europe/Rome timezone

Cross-section measurements of different reactions leading to the production of 155Tb for medical applications

Feb 28, 2024, 12:50 PM
5m

Speaker

Michele Colucci (UNIMI & INFN - Sezione di Milano)

Description

Four of the terbium radioisotopes have great potential as theranostic radionuclides ($^{149}$Tb, $^{152}$Tb, $^{155}$Tb, and $^{161}$Tb). This work mainly focuses on $^{155}$Tb (I$_{ec}$ = 100%, T$_{1/2}$ = 5.32 d). It emits gamma rays with energies suitable for SPECT studies (86 keV, 105 keV) and the absence of β$^+$/ β$^-$ emissions reduces the radiotoxicity of this radionuclide. The effectiveness of $^{155}$Tb for the diagnostic in nuclear medicine has been preclinically proved.
In the framework of the INFN REMIX project, our research involves the measurement of $^{nat}$Eu($\alpha$,x)$^{155}$Tb nuclear reaction cross-section, alongside with the ones of contaminants prevalent in the process. Moreover, we showcase the viability of indirect production through the generator method - $^{155}$Dy/$^{155}$Tb. This entails the proton-induced nuclear reactions on terbium targets to produce $^{155}$Dy, with the cross-section of the reaction $^{159}$Tb(p,5n)$^{155}$Dy experimentally measured.
This presentation provides the results of the measurement of nuclear cross sections, offering a comprehensive comparison of the two production techniques with a keen focus on radionuclidic purity (RNP) and specific activity (A$_S$).
Our findings not only advance the knowledge about the production pathways of $^{155}$Tb for theranostic applications but also contribute to the understanding of nuclear processes by enriching the nuclear libraries.

Primary author

Michele Colucci (UNIMI & INFN - Sezione di Milano)

Co-authors

Filippo Carlo Bolchini Lorenzo Confalonieri (Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare) Dr Etienne Nigron (GIP Arronax) Dr Ferid Haddad (GIP Arronax) Flavia Maria Groppi (Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare) Simone Manenti (Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare)

Presentation materials