Excitation functions for deuteron induced reactions in natural nickel: Production of no-carrier-added 64Cu from enriched 64Ni targets for positron emission tomography

The excitation functions for the production of 64Cu and other radionuclides by the deuteron irradiation of natural Ni targets have been measured up to 19 MeV incident energy. The excitation function for the 64Ni(d, 2n)64Cu reaction shows a maximum effective cross section of 7.2±0.9 mbarn at 16.2 MeV for the natural Ni target. Data have been used for the production of large quantities of 64Cu by the deuteron irradiation of enriched (96.4%) 64Ni targets. The radiochemical extraction procedures developed can produce either carrier-free 64Cu or utilize a small amount (50 μg) of carrier. The thick target yield of 64Cu is 107 ± 16 GBq/C (10.5 ± 1.6 mCi/μ Ah) and the contamination with 61Cu is only 0.29% at EOB. Data on the production yields of 61Cu, 64Cu, 57Ni, 55Co, 56Co 57Co and 58Co during the deuteron irradiation of natural Ni and enriched 64Ni targets are presented. © 1991.