Radiochemical separation and quality assessment for the 68Zn target based 64Cu radioisotope production

The radiochemical separation of the different radionuclides (Cu-64, Cu-67, Ga-67, Ga-66, Ni-56, Ni-57, Co-55, Co-56, Co-57, Zn-65, Au-196) induced in the Ni supported Cu substrate - Zn-68 target system, which was bombarded with the 29.0 MeV proton beam, was performed by ion-exchange chromatography using successive isocratic and/or concentration gradient elution techniques. The overlapped gamma-ray spectrum analysis method was developed to assess the Ga-67 and Cu-67 content in the Cu-64 product and even in the post- Ga-67 production Zn-68 target solution without the support of radiochemical separation. This method was used for the assessment of Cu64+67 radioisotope separation from Ga-67, the quality control of Cu-64 product and the determination of the Zn-68 (p,2p)Cu-67 reaction yield. The improvement in the targetry and the optimization of proton beam energy for the Zn-68 target based Cu-64 and Ga-67 production were proposed based on the stopping power and range of the incident proton and on the excitation functions, reaction yields and different radionuclides induced in the target system.