Production of [11C]CO2 with gas target at low proton energies

Nowadays the demand and the installation of self-shielded low-energy cyclotrons is growing, allowing the use of 11C in many more centers. The aim of this study was the design of a new target and the evaluation of the production of 11C as [11C]CO2 at low proton energies. The target was coupled to an IBA Cyclone-18/9 and the energy was decreased to 4–16 MeV. The newly designed target allowed the production of [11C]CO2 at different proton energies, and the results suggest that the cyclotron energy of Cyclone-18/9 is slightly higher than the nominal 18 MeV.