Optimization of 124I production via 124Te(p,n)124I reaction

124I was produced, via 124Te(p,n)124I reaction, in greater than 3.7 GBq (100 mCi, EOB) amount by bombarding 124TeO2 targets at 24 μA current for about 8 h. This was achieved by keeping the target at 37° relative to the beam during irradiation, by sweeping the beam across the target and by keeping the incident energy of the proton at 14.1 MeV. The time-averaged yield of our 8 h run was 21.1 MBq/μA h (0.57 mCi/μA h), which was 90% of the theoretical yield calculated using thick target yield data obtained from the reported excitation function for the reaction. At the end of bombardment, the level of 125I and 126I impurities, co-produced with 124I, were 0.03% and 0.007%, respectively.