Speaker
Description
Certain radionuclides of the chemical element scandium are promising candidates to be used for radionuclide-targeted therapy and positron emission tomography (PET/CT). $^{44}$Sc or $^{43}$Sc can be used for diagnostic imaging purposes and monitoring therapy response and $^{47}$Sc for therapeutic purposes or SPECT diagnostics. In terms of production cross section and cost natural titanium is an advantageous target material for producing $^{43,44g,44m,47}$Sc radionuclides in sufficient amounts for clinical use. This is done to investigate isotope release and extraction for MEDICIS mass separation.
This study is done in a MEDICIS target unit and is designed to undertake a comprehensive analysis of the release kinetics of scandium from irradiated titanium foils, with a specific focus on elucidating the intricate relationship between target material thickness and temperature conditions. By meticulously studying these factors, the project aims to uncover the underlying mechanisms governing scandium diffusion and effusion during ion implantation processes. This study aspires to contribute significant insights into the intricate interplay of target material thickness and temperature on scandium diffusion and effusion during ion implantation. By advancing the understanding of these mechanisms, the research outcomes are expected to pave the way for an optimized scandium implantation process.
In this study, natural titanium target material was irradiated at the CERN CHARM facility. Samples were parasitically irradiated during 5 days by taking advantage of the secondary flux procuced from a 24 GeV proton beam ipinging a thick target with an average intensity of 5E10 p/s. The titanium metal foils containing $^{46}$Sc and $^{47}$Sc were heated up inside the container of a target unit for time periods between 1 and 3 hours to temperatures between 1100 and 1550 $^o$C in vacuum. Thus, the release properties of scandium from titanium under these conditions were studied by g-spectrometry means. From the experimental results, optimum release conditions are suggested.
Acknowledgments
This work was supported in part by Latvian Council of Science, grant number: lzp-2021/1-0539 “Novel and efficient approach of medical $^{43}$Sc, $^{44}$Sc and $^{47}$Sc radionuclide separation and purification from irradiated metallic targets towards radiopharmaceutical development for theranostics”
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