Evaluation of nuclear reaction cross sections for optimization of production of the emerging diagnostic radionuclide 55Co

•Evaluation of 54Fe(d,n)55Co, 56Fe(p,2n)55Co and 58Ni(p,α)55Co reactions.•Detailed nuclear model calculations (TALYS and EMPIRE) and statistical fitting of the selected data.•Estimation of integral yield and impurity level in the production of 55Co.•Comparison of major production routes of 55Co.

The excitation functions of the 54Fe(d,n)55Co, 56Fe(p,2n)55Co and 58Ni(p,α)55Co reactions were analyzed with relevance to the production of the β+-emitter 55Co (T½=17.53 h), a promising cobalt radionuclide for PET imaging. The nuclear model codes ALICE-IPPE, EMPIRE and TALYS were used to check the consistency of the experimental data. The statistically fitted excitation function was employed to calculate the integral yield of the product. The amounts of the radioactive impurities 56Co and 57Co were assessed. A comparison of the three investigated production routes is given.