Production of Cu and Cu with accelerator neutrons by deuterons and their separation from zinc

Nagai, Yasuki*; Kawabata, Masako*; Saeki, Hideya*; Motoishi, Shoji*; Hashimoto, Kazuyuki; Tsukada, Kazuaki  ; Motomura, Arata*; Ota, Akio*; Takashima, Naoki*; Hashimoto, Shintaro  ; Ito, Masatoshi*; Kikunaga, Hidetoshi*; Furumoto, Shozo*

In recent years, the radionuclide pair of Cu and Cu has attracted attention as an ideal theranostic agent. We proposed a novel production method utilizing a neutron source generated by deuteron beams at an accelerator facility. By irradiating enriched Zn samples with this neutron source, we measured the absolute activity and radionuclidic purity of the produced Cu. The results were consistent with calculations performed using PHITS and JENDL-5 developed by the Japan Atomic Energy Agency, confirming the reliability of the calculation method and demonstrating its capability to estimate the yields of trace radionuclides that are difficult to measure experimentally. Furthermore, we successfully separated Cu from the irradiated Zn sample using our developed sublimation and column separation techniques. These findings suggest that the production of Cu and Cu can be achieved in an economically sustainable manner at multiple sites.