Nuclear cross-section of the natEu(α, x) reactions up to 65 MeV: focus on the production of theranostic radioisotopes of terbium

Terbium is considered a promising element for theranostic applications in nuclear medicine due to its four medically-relevant radioisotopes: 149Tb, 152Tb, 155Tb and 161Tb, each suited for different diagnostic or therapeutic uses. Despite its potential, the clinical adoption of terbium is hindered by the lack of large-scale production methods for these isotopes. This work presents the first comprehensive study of nuclear cross-sections for natEu(alpha, x) reactions, using europium oxide targets, in the energy range of 20-65 MeV for 155Tb production. Theoretical simulations using TALYS 1.96 were performed, highlighting the need for further model refinements. Additionally, we employed the Non-dominated Sorting Genetic algorithm II (NSGA-II) to optimize the production parameters for 155Tb on enriched 153Eu targets.These findings contribute to optimizing production routes for terbium isotopes, supporting future developments in nuclear medicine.