Cross sections of alpha-particle induced reactions on natNi: Production of 67Cu

The 67Cu is considered as one of the most perspective radio isotopes in targeted radio-immunotherapy medical applications. 67Cu is a β–-emitter with a mean β– energy, which allows treating tumors in size up to about 4 mm. Its decay is followed by emission of low energy gamma-rays suitable for gamma-camera imaging. The about three days half-life (T1/2 = 61.83 h) is optimal for human applications. However, one of the main drawback factors for its application is still the limited supply of 67Cu. There are several possibilities to produce 67Cu. High flux reactors, charged particle accelerators and high-energy bremsstrahlung radiations can be used to produce 67Cu. In this work we have studied one of the promising charged particle production routes based on the 64Ni(α,p)67Cu nuclear reaction. Cross sections for formation of 67,64,61,60Cu, 62,63Zn and 56,57Ni were studied up to 50 MeV alpha-particle energy on nickel targets with natural isotopic composition.