A novel method for n.c.a. ⁶⁴Cu production by the ⁶⁴Zn(d, 2p)⁶⁴Cu reaction and dual ion-exchange column chromatography

A novel production method for n.c.a. ⁶⁴Cu based on deuteron irradiation of ⁶⁴Zn is presented. The production takes place through the ⁶⁴Zn(d, 2p) ⁶⁴Cu reaction using a deuteron beam of 19.5 MeV energy on highly enriched ⁶⁴Zn disks. An average yield over three irradiations of 31 MBq/μA h (850 μCi/μA h) and saturation yield of 575 MBq/μA (15.5 mCi/μA) at the end of the beam (EOB) was measured by γ-ray spectrometry. Two of the three runs, of low irradiation charge, were used for radiochemistry. The copper isotopes were separated from other radionuclidic impurities by the combination of cation and anion exchange chromatography. An average radiochemical yield of 90% was estimated for the two runs performed in this study, and the specific activity as determined using flame atomic absorption spectrometry was about 4 MBq/μg, 2 hours after EOB. An extrapolation of the present results to production conditions (50 μA, 10 h) indicates approximately 8 GBq/μg (220 mCi/μg) of specific activity. The overall uncertainty in these values is estimated to 15%.