Production of High-Purity 52gMn from natV Targets with Alpha Beams at Cyclotrons

Radioisotope Mn-52g is of special interest for multimodal imaging. Using state-of-art nuclear reaction codes, we study the alternative nuclear reaction route V-nat(alpha,x)Mn-52g in comparison with the standard production routes based upon the use of chromium targets. The integral yields of Mn-52g and contaminants have been evaluated. The main outcome of this investigation is that the Mn-52g yield of the new production route compares favorably with respect to the standard Cr-nat one, and the contamination due to Mn-54 is expected to be significantly lower. The study also reveals a large spread in the cross-section data set and points out the need of more precise measurements of the reaction V-nat(alpha,x)Mn-52g as well as the need of more refined models in nuclear reaction codes such as Talys, Empire, and Fluka.