Molecular plating for targetry: proof of concept using ^natGd(p,x)¹⁵⁵Tb cross section measurements

The production of radionuclides for nuclear medicine is crucial for advancements in both diagnosis and therapy. ¹⁵⁵Tb stands out as a promising candidate for SPECT imaging and as counterpart of the therapeutic radionuclide ¹⁶¹Tb in a theranostics approach. This work focuses on the gadolinium target fabrication process via molecular plating (MP) and its uses to study the production and identification of activation products when irradiated with proton. A particular attention is devoted on the quality of the produced targets using different analytical techniques. These findings contribute to ongoing efforts to establish reliable production routes for ¹⁵⁵Tb. Our results show good agreement with the literature and simulation data, providing new experimental data to the production of ¹⁵⁵Tb and other co-products or impurities via the bombardment of ^natGd targets and the contribution of (p,x) nuclear reactions, thus validating the MP technique for cross section measurements. This paves the way to fabricate enriched lanthanides target to explore extensively the production of radio-lanthanides.