$\mathrm{^{117m}Sn}$ and $\mathrm{^{119m}Te}$ Production via Proton Bombardment on Natural Antimony and Implications for Modeling Charged Particle Reactions

TL;DR

This study measures proton-induced production cross sections of specific radionuclides on natural antimony and compares experimental data with theoretical models to improve reaction predictions for medical isotope production.

Contribution

It provides new experimental cross section data for proton reactions on antimony up to 200 MeV and evaluates model improvements in TALYS for better reaction prediction accuracy.

Findings

Experimental cross sections measured at multiple labs.

Model parameter adjustments improved reaction prediction.

Enhanced understanding of proton-induced radionuclide production.

Abstract

$\mathrm{^{117m}Sn}$ and $\mathrm{^{119}Sb}$, the latter of which is produced via a $\mathrm{^{119m}Te}$ generator, are promising radionuclides for the targeted treatment of both osteoarthritis and small mass tumors via Auger therapy. Experiments were conducted at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and Brookhaven National Laboratory to measure the $\mathrm{^{nat}Sb}$(p,x)$\mathrm{^{117m}Sn}$ and $\mathrm{^{nat}Sb}$(p,x)$\mathrm{^{119m}Te}$ cross sections for incident proton energies up to 200 MeV. Additional measurements for co-produced isotopes are included as well. In addition to this dataset, this paper investigates improvements for proton-induced reaction modeling capabilities through comparison of these experimental dataset against theoretical models in TALYS 1.95. Parameter adjustments affecting level density, optical model potential, and pre-equilibrium emission were explored, with a goodness-of-fit metric established by the largest independent cross section channels and cross-validated with remaining channels.