Irradiation of strontium chloride targets at proton energies above 35 MeV to produce PET radioisotope Y-86

Proton irradiation of natural and enriched SrCl(2) targets was used to produce PET radioisotope (86)Y. The proton energy was degraded from the incident 117.8 MeV to induce the (88)Sr(p, 3n) reaction. For the irradiation three pellets made of (nat)SrCl(2) (6.61 and 74.49 g) and (88)SrCl(2) (5.02 g) were pressed and individually encapsulated in stainless steel target bodies. The two smaller targets were irradiated for 0.5-1 h at the energy similar to 46 -> 37 MeV to take advantage of the peak in the excitation function of the (88)Sr(p, 3n) reaction. The larger target was irradiated at 66.4 -> 44.6 MeV. The irradiated pellets were chemically processed to selectively separate 86Y radioisotope using Eichrom DGA (N,N,N',N ''-tetra-n-octyldiglycolamide) resin. The production yields of (86)Y were determined to be 10-13 mCi/mu Ah. Coproduction of (87m)Y in the final product was 34% for (nat)SrCl(2) and 54% for (88)SrCl(2) target. The chemical separation yield of yttrium reached 88-92%. The developed chemical procedure allows for the same day processing and shipment of the isotope to users.