Excitation function measurements for MN-52 production by deuteron beams irradiation for theranostic applications

Manganese-52 is a radionuclide which decays with positron emission and electron capture, with a medium-long half-life (T1/2 = 5.591 d). As a positron emitter, 52Mn has a possible and promising use in Nuclear Medicine as a radiotracer for PET diagnostic tests, useful to investigate biological and physiological processes occurring on the same time scale of its decay; the low energy of the positrons emitted (244.6 keV) and the short range in the tissues (0.63 mm) would allow to acquire diagnostic images of a quality similar to those obtained with radiotracers already in use, such as Fluorine-18 (252 keV; 0.66 mm). Moreover, the stable isotope of manganese Mn2+presents paramagnetic properties that make it suitable for use in MRI, opening the possibility of obtaining multi-modal PET / MEMRI images. Currently manganese is produced by irradiation with protons on chromium targets. We have studied the production by deuteron beams irradiation, that could be more advantageous.