Production of 64Cu and 67Cu with accelerator neutrons by deuterons and their separation from zinc
The <sup>64</sup>Cu/<sup>67</sup>Cu pair is an ideal set of theranostic radionuclides for treating patients based on their genetic profiles. We propose a novel production route for this radionuclide pair using accelerator-generated neutrons. We report experimental measurements of the absolute activity and radionuclide purity of <sup>64</sup>Cu and <sup>67</sup>Cu, produced by irradiating <sup>64</sup>Zn and <sup>68</sup>Zn with these neutrons. The measured results were consistent with simulated values. <sup>64</sup>Cu and <sup>67</sup>Cu were separated from the irradiated natural Zn and <sup>68</sup>Zn using sublimation and column separation techniques. The production methods for <sup>64</sup>Cu and <sup>67</sup>Cu developed in this study are expected to enhance their availability in an economically sustainable manner.
Authors
- Arata Motomura
- Hideya Saeki
- Shintaro Hashimoto (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8674-8156)
- Masako Kawabata (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9139-337X)
- Shoji Motoishi
- Naoki Takashima
- Shozo Furumoto (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9296-3079)
- H. Kikunaga (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5312-7561)
- Masatoshi Itoh
- Kazuyuki Hashimoto
- Y. Nagai (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6304-1921)
- Akio Ohta (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8024-0773)
- Kazuaki Tsukada
Institutions
- Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JP)
- Tohoku University (JP)
- Kai Research (United States) (US)
- Advanced Science Research Center (JP)
- The University of Osaka (JP)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Frontiers in Nuclear Medicine
- Published
- 2025-10-09
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3389/fnume.2025.1657125
- Primary Topic
- Particle accelerators and beam dynamics
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00