Nuclear cross-section of the ^nat Eu( <i>α</i> ,  <i>x</i> ) reactions up to 65 MeV: focus on the production of theranostic radioisotopes of terbium

Abstract Terbium is considered a promising element for theranostic applications in nuclear medicine due to its four medically-relevant radioisotopes: 149 Tb, 152 Tb, 155 Tb and 161 Tb, each suited for different diagnostic or therapeutic uses. Despite its potential, the clinical adoption of terbium is hindered by the lack of large-scale production methods for these isotopes. This work presents the first comprehensive study of nuclear cross-sections for nat Eu( α , x ) reactions, using europium oxide targets, in the energy range of 20–65 MeV for 155 Tb production. Theoretical simulations using TALYS 1.96 were performed, highlighting the need for further model refinements. Additionally, we employed the Non-dominated Sorting Genetic algorithm II (NSGA-II) to optimize the production parameters for 155 Tb on enriched 153 Eu targets.These findings contribute to optimizing production routes for terbium isotopes, supporting future developments in nuclear medicine.