Production of 68Ge, 64Cu, 86Y, 89Zr, 73Se, 77Br and 124I positron emitting radionuclides through future laser-accelerated proton beams at Eli-Beamlines for innovative PET diagnostics

The development of innovative production pathways for high-Z positron emitters is of great interest to enlarge the applicability of PET diagnostics, especially in view of the continuous development of new radiopharmaceuticals. We evaluated the theoretical yields of 64 Cu, 86 Y , 89 Zr, 73 Se, 77 Br and 124 I PET isotopes, plus the 68 Ge isotope, parent of the 68 Ga positron emitter, in the hypothesis of production through laser-accelerated proton sources expected at the ELI-Beamlines facility. By means of the TALYS software we simulated the nuclear reactions leading to the above radionuclides, hypothesizing three possible scenarios of broad proton spectra, with maximum energies of about 9, 40 and 100 MeV. The production yields of the studied radionuclides, within the expected fluences, appear to be suitable for pre-clinical applications.