Production of 47 Sc with natural vanadium targets: results of the PASTA project

The goal of PASTA project (acronym for production with accelerator of 47 Sc for theranostic applications) is the determination of excitation functions associated to several nuclear reactions, aimed at yielding the theranostic radionuclide 47 Sc. This work reports the main results obtained by irradiating natural vanadium targets with proton beams up to 70 MeV. Particular care is also given to the co-production of 46 Sc, the only isotopic contaminant with half-life longer than 47 Sc. Experimental results are compared with theoretical studies by means of known nuclear reaction software tools that are publicly available.