Improvement of nuclear reaction modeling for the production of ⁴⁷Sc on natural vanadium targets for medical applications

The proton-induced reaction on natural vanadium targets is studied for the production of the innovative theranostic radionuclide 47 Sc as well as of its contaminants, mainly 46 Sc. The theoretical excitation functions are calculated using the nuclear reaction code TALYS and are compared with the most recent experimental data. A better agreement between the theoretical curves and the data is achieved with an optimization of the nuclear level density parameters. The obtained improvements represent a useful and important result for accurate evaluations of yields and purities which are needed quantities for subsequent dosimetric studies, in view of the radiopharmaceutical applications of 47 Sc. The optimization procedure is explained and shown for 47 Sc and 46 Sc, and also a comparison among the theoretical and experimental cumulatives is given (for the main contaminant) in addition to an estimation of the production yields for two irradiation conditions for both nuclides.