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

Radioisotope ^52gMn is of special interest for multimodal imaging. Using state-of-art nuclear reaction codes, we study the alternative nuclear reaction route ^natV(,x)^52gMn in comparison with the standard production routes based upon the use of chromium targets. The integral yields of ^52gMn and contaminants have been evaluated. The main outcome of this investigation is that the ^52gMn yield of the new production route compares favorably with respect to the standard ^natCr one, and the contamination due to ⁵⁴Mn 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 ^natV(,x)^52gMn as well as the need of more refined models in nuclear reaction codes such as Talys, Empire, and Fluka.