Assessing production of 38K suitable for PET imaging via 38Ar(p, n)38K, 38Ar(d,2n)38K, and 36Ar(t, n)38K reactions using GEANT4, EMPIRE, and TALYS codes

In this study, the production of the favorable radioisotope ³⁸K (T_1/2 = 7.6 min) for use in Positron Emission Tomography (PET) imaging via the novel reactions ³⁸Ar(p, n)³⁸K, ³⁸Ar(d,2n)³⁸K, and ³⁶Ar(t, n)³⁸K was studied using simulations performed with the GEANT4-10.7, SRIM-2013-Pro, EMPIRE-3.2.3, and TALYS-2.0 nuclear codes. The range and stopping power (SP) for the mentioned reactions were calculated using the GEANT4 and SRIM codes. Moreover, the cross-sections of the above reactions were evaluated using the GEANT4 toolkit, the EMPIRE code, and four methods of the TALYS nuclear package (OMPs, BSFGM, CGCM, and GSM). The experimental data and present simulated values were in good agreement to each other. The maximum cross-section values of the ³⁸Ar(p, n)³⁸K reaction were 59.600 for the experimental data, and 57.938, 167.747, 168.315, 147.513, 168.315, and 156.594 mb for the mentioned codes, respectively, which can be seen that the GEANT4 result is closer to the literature experimental value. In addition, the saturated thick production yield of the ³⁸Ar(p, n)³⁸K reaction (in the optimum energy range of 7-16 MeV), ³⁸Ar(d,2n)³⁸K (in the optimum energy range of 9-20 MeV), and ³⁶Ar(t, n)³⁸K (in the optimum energy range of 1-10 MeV) was estimated by the GEANT4 and TALYS codes. The highest saturated thick production yields for the ³⁸Ar(p, n)³⁸K reaction were 30.392, 32.832, and 25.097 mCi/µA for the previous experimental data, the GEANT4 toolkit, and the TALYS code, respectively. As indicated by the results, using nuclear simulation tools such as those mentioned can be an effective method for predicting nuclear reactions before performing them experimentally, thereby saving time and reducing costs.