High-purity 52gMn production: natV(α,x)52gMn and natCr(p,x)52gMn at comparison

52gMn appears as a valid agent for positron emission tomography (PET) of biological complex with slow localization in the target tissues, thanks to its decay properties (β+ = 29.4%, E(β+) avg= 242 keV) and its quite long half-life (t1/2 = 5.6 day). Recently, the cyclotron production route natV(α,x)52gMn has been proposed as an alternative to the standard natCr(p,x)52gMn one. The cross sections comparison has been carried out by means of the nuclear reaction code Talys. For the α-natV reaction, the 52gMn cross sections have been optimized by tuning the microscopic level densities parameters and, from there, yields and purities have been calculated. Dosimetric evaluations of [xxMn]Cl2 have been accomplished by means of the OLINDA software using adult female and male phantoms. Finally, the dose increase (DI) has been calculated for both reactions by combining the estimated yield of xxMn radioisotopes with the dosimetric outcomes. Results indicate that 52gMn production from both natV(α,x) and natCr(p,x) routes is acceptable for clinics. However, the natV(α,x)52gMn reaction provides a DI systematically lower than the one obtainable with natCr(p,x)52gMn and a radionuclidic purity greater than 99% for a longer time window.