Dose enhancement factor caused by gold nanoparticles: influence of the dosimetric sensitivity and radiation dose assessed by electron spin resonance dosimetry.

Gold nanoparticles have been extensively used to increase the sensitivity of radiation dosimeters. In this work, nanocomposites of alanine (Ala), 2-methylalanine (2MA), asparagine (Asn) and monosodium glutamate (MSG) containing gold nanoparticles were prepared. The influence of the mass percentage of gold (0.1% up to 3%), absorbed dose (2 Gy-10 kGy) and the intrinsic sensitivity of these materials on the dose enhancement factor (DEF) were investigated. The prepared nanocomposites were characterized by UV-vis absorption spectroscopy and dynamic light scattering technique. Electron spin resonance spectroscopy was employed to assess the dosimetric response. The results revealed that the gold nanoparticles aggregated in the nanocomposites of MSG and Asn but not in the Ala and 2MA samples. Higher DEFs were observed for materials with lower intrinsic sensitivities (Asn and MSG) and for lower doses of radiation, suggesting that the dosimetric response of the nanocomposite dosimeters is governed by the probability of radical recombination. The higher the radiation dose, gold mass percentage and/or intrinsic sensitivity of the dosimetric material, the higher the production of radiation-induced free-radicals, enhancing the probability of radical recombination and resulting in lower DEFs. These results bring new insights about the use of gold nanoparticles to the construction of more sensitive radiation dosimeters.

Monosodium glutamate for accidental, retrospective, and medical dosimetry using electron spin resonance.

The risk of a radiation episode has increased in the last years due to several reasons. In case of a nuclear incident, as with the use of an improvised nuclear device, determination of the radiation doses received by the victims is of utmost importance to define the appropriate medical treatment or to monitor the late effects of radiation. Dose assessment in case of accidents can be performed using commonplace materials found in the accident area. In this paper, the dosimetric properties of monosodium glutamate are investigated by electron spin resonance spectroscopy (ESR), for retrospective and accidental dosimetry. The spectroscopic parameters were optimized to achieve higher signal intensity and better signal-to-noise ratio. As a result, the lowest detectable dose was 0.1 Gy, and monosodium glutamate showed a linear dose-response curve for doses ranging from 0.1 Gy to 10 kGy. The dosimetric signal was monitored from minutes right after irradiation, until 1 year. No changes in the signal intensity were observed over this period, meaning that doses could be assessed immediately after radiation exposure and can still be reconstructed long after the accident. This property also implies that late effects due to victim's radiation exposure could be better monitored and understood. ESR signal intensity for samples irradiated with a photon energy below 100 keV was decreased by only 27% and no dose-rate dependence was noticed. Therefore, the ability to measure doses as low as 0.1 Gy, the high stability of the dosimetric signal, as well as independence on dose rate, tissue equivalence, low-cost, and wide commercial availability make monosodium glutamate a very good dosimetric material not only for retrospective and accidental but also for medical dosimetry.