Theoretical Modeling of Proton- and Neutron-Induced Nuclear Reactions for Optimized Production of Selected Theranostic Radioisotopes Using EMPIRE 3.2.3 Code

Abstract

Radioisotopes such as ⁶⁷Cu and ⁶⁷Ga are of growing importance in nuclear medicine due to their theranostic potential. Reliable production of these radionuclides requires accurate evaluation of nuclear reaction cross sections; however, experimental data remain limited over wide energy ranges. In this study, the reaction cross sections of ⁶⁷Cu and ⁶⁷Ga were evaluated using the statistical nuclear reaction model code EMPIRE 3.2.3, with particular emphasis on the impact of nuclear level density models. Proton-induced reactions ⁶⁸Zn(p,2p)⁶⁷Cu, ⁷⁰Zn(p,α)⁶⁷Cu, ⁶⁸Zn(p,2n)⁶⁷Ga, and ⁶⁷Zn(p,n)⁶⁷Ga were analyzed from threshold to 70 MeV. The calculated cross sections were compared with experimental data from the EXFOR database and evaluated nuclear data files (ENDF) from the IAEA. Peak cross-section values of 666.11 mb (10 MeV) and 747.54 mb (20 MeV) were obtained for ⁶⁷Cu production, while 6.80 mb (32 MeV) and 17.79 mb (17 MeV) were observed for ⁶⁷Ga. The results show good agreement with evaluated data and reasonable consistency with experimental measurements. These findings confirm the suitability of EMPIRE 3.2.3 for evaluating reaction cross sections and optimizing production routes of copper- and gallium-based theranostic radionuclides, particularly where experimental facilities are limited.