Assessment and estimation of 67Cu production yield via deuteron induced reactions on natZn and 70Zn.

67Cu radioisotope is a beta particle-emitting nuclide used in radioimmunotherapy (RIT) as well as for imaging, tracer kinetic studies and dosimetry. 67Cu can be produced by bombarding natZn with deuterons. In this study, the physical yields of 67Cu via natZn(d,x)67Cu reaction channel as well as via subreactions of 68Zn(d,2pn)67Cu, 67Zn(d,2p)67Cu, 70Zn(d,2p3n)67Cu, 68Zn(d,x)67Ni(T1/2=21s)→67Cu and 70Zn(d,x)67Ni(T1/2=21s)→67Cu in the natZn target have been calculated by using the MCNPX-2.6, TALYS-1.8 and SRIM codes. Also, the total cross sections for production of 67Cu from natZn(d,x)67Cu reaction channel in the energy range of 15-45MeV have been estimated by TALYS code. The best reaction to produce 67Cu radionuclide in a carrier free form was chosen with deuteron energy around 30MeV on 70Zn thick target. Good agreement between the calculated results and the experimental values shows that the employed methods can be used for prediction and production estimation in cyclotron.