Physical optimization of production by deuteron irradiation of high specific activity (177g)Lu suitable for radioimmunotherapy.

Deuteron-induced nuclear reactions for generation of no-carrier-added (NCA) Lu isotopes were investigated using the stacked-foil activation technique on natural Yb targets at energies up to Ed=18.18MeV. The decay curve of ¹⁷⁷Yb, the growth curve of the cumulative (direct and indirect) and the direct production of (177g)Lu were determined. The analysis of these curves conducts to the evidence that the predominant route for the production of (177g)Lu is the indirect reaction ¹⁷⁶Yb(d,p)¹⁷⁷Yb, which decays to (177g)Lu. In the spectra acquired one year from the EOB the γ lines of (177m)Lu are not evident. A comparison between the calculated activity of (177g)Lu produced with a cyclotron and with a nuclear reactor is given.