Quantitative assessment of ¹⁶⁷Tm isotope production: experimental data analysis and model validation

¹⁶⁷Tm is an effective radioisotope for use in theragnostic purposes. This study aims to find the best alternative routes for producing ¹⁶⁷Tm for appropriate cancer therapy and diagnostics. In this study, we comprehensively analyzed production cross-sections of ¹⁶⁷Tm and investigated the behavior of these reactions using six different level density models and refined optical model potential (OMP) parameters with the nuclear reaction code TALYS 1.96. Using this code, we estimated the specific activity and production yield for promising production routes. For characterizing the ¹⁶⁷Tm isotopes, the energy distribution of ¹⁶⁷Tm was also analyzed for each prominent reaction by particle and heavy ion transport code system (PHITS). The maximum specific activity was estimated as 52.6–75.2 GBq/g with a production yield of 20.2–32.7 GBq/mAh for the route ¹⁶⁹Tm(p,x)¹⁶⁷Tm. The experimental value was reproduced with good agreement by TALYS adjusting different OMP parameters. ¹⁶⁹Tm(p,x)¹⁶⁷Tm is the alternative route for producing ¹⁶⁷Tm, for which TALYS can reproduce the result more accurately.