{
  "abstract": "Copper-64 radiopharmaceuticals have seen limited clinical deployment primarily due to the high cost of the isotopically enriched $^{64}$Ni metal required for its production. In this work we demonstrate that ultra-high radioisotopic pure $^{64}$Cu can be directly produced in a no-carrier-added-form from natural zinc metal through irradiation with D-D fusion narrowband fast neutron sources. A highly controlled D-D fusion narrowband fast neutron source at the ELI-ALPS Laser Facility was deployed to irradiate encapsulated 99.995\\% pure natural zinc for 1 hour. Time-resolved gamma-ray spectroscopy of the irradiated sample over 72 hours was deployed to assess copper radioisotope activity. $^{64}$Cu was the only copper radioisotope detected within the irradiated sample, with a minimum and Minimum Detection Activity (MDA) threshold-corrected $^{64}$Cu radioisotopic purity of 99.62\\% and 99.97\\% respectively. Our result illustrates that highly controlled D-D fusion narrowband fast neutron sources have the potential to reduce the raw material production costs for $^{64}$Cu radiopharmaceuticals on the order of 2000 times. Cheaper $^{64}$Cu radiopharmaceuticals will increase their use in clinical practice, and, in-turn, increase outcomes for cancer patients receiving radionuclide therapy.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": "2610.31340",
  "author_total": 10,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "Jeremy M. C. Brown"
    },
    {
      "name": "Mantas Grigalavicius"
    },
    {
      "name": "Tibor Gilinger"
    },
    {
      "name": "Adam Kovacs"
    },
    {
      "name": "Parvin Varmazyar"
    },
    {
      "name": "Hsin-Hui Huang"
    },
    {
      "name": "Saulius Juodkazis"
    },
    {
      "name": "Mikas Vengris"
    },
    {
      "name": "Darius Gailevicius"
    },
    {
      "name": "Karoly Osvay"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/c0661b77vspzg.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.48550/arxiv.2610.31340",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "c0661b77vspzg",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.31340",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-NC-ND-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY-NC-ND 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": "CC0-1.0",
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "arxiv",
      "physics.med-ph"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2741|Radiopharmaceutical Chemistry and Applications"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7223339245",
  "pdf_url": "https://arxiv.org/pdf/2610.31340",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-22",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/c0661b77vspzg.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:34:34Z",
      "native_id": "2610.31340",
      "source": "arxiv",
      "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.31340"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "physics",
      "origin": "arxiv:physics.med-ph",
      "subfield": "biological-medical"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Direct Production of Ultra-High Radioisotopic Pure $^{64}$Cu from Natural Zinc Metal via D-D Fusion Narrowband Fast Neutron Source Irradiation",
  "title_text": "Direct Production of Ultra-High Radioisotopic Pure ^64Cu from Natural Zinc Metal via D-D Fusion Narrowband Fast Neutron Source Irradiation",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:34:34Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/c0661b77vspzg",
  "venue": "arXiv",
  "versions": []
}