Green synthesis of gold nanoparticles in Gum Arabic using pulsed laser ablation for CT imaging.

Laser ablation synthesis in liquid solution (PLAL) is a green technique that allows for the physical formation of nanomaterials. This study indicates the preparation of stable gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) in Gum Arabic (GA) solution via laser ablation as a CT contrast agent. The optical properties were achieved using the absorption spectroscopic technique whereas the morphology and size distribution were investigated by TEM and ImageJ software. TEM image shows greater stability and spherical shape of GA-AuNPs with smaller size at 1.85 ± 0.99 nm compared to AuNPs without GA. The absorption spectrum of pure AuNPs has a lower absorption peak height in the visible range at λ = 521 nm, while the spectrum of GA-AuNPs has a higher plasmon peak height at λ = 514 nm with a blue shift towards lower wavelengths. The concentration of GA that dissolved in 10 mL of DI water via laser ablation is set at 20 mg. Increasing the number of pulses has only a minor effect on particle size distribution, which remains tiny in the nanometer range (less than 3 nm). For energies greater than 200 mJ, there is a blue shift toward shorter wavelengths. As the concentration of GA-AuNPs increases, the CT number is also increased indicating good image contrast. It can be concluded that there is a positive and significant influence of GA as a reducing agent for AuNPs, and a contrast agent for CT imaging which highlights its superiority in future medical applications.

EBT3 Films in Low Solar Ultraviolet and X-Ray Dose Measurement: A Comparative Analysis.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the potentiality of Gafchromic external beam therapy 3 (EBT3) film to measure low dosage of solar ultraviolet (SUV; 0-10 600 mJ/cm2) and x-ray (0-750 mGy) radiation. In this experiment, 2 groups of EBT3 films were prepared with size 2 cm × 1 cm. The first group of films was exposed by incremental SUV dose in the middle of the day. The other group was irradiated by x-ray at 100 kVp, 100 mA, and 2 S of tube voltage, tube current, and exposure time, respectively. The measured SUV consists of 90% ultraviolet A (UVA) and 10% ultraviolet B. The film discoloration was represented by visible absorbance spectroscopy technique using Jaz spectrometer from Ocean Optics Inc. Simple linear regression produced high accuracy with coefficients of determination, r 2 of 0.9804 and root mean square error (RMSE) of 434.88 mJ/cm2 for the measurement of SUV dose. On the other hand, r 2 of 0.98 and RMSE of 31 mGy was produced for the measurement of x-ray dose. The application of multiple linear regression enhanced the measurement accuracy with R 2 of 99% and 99.7% and RMSE of 327.06 mJ/cm2 and 15.045 mGy for SUV and x-ray dose, respectively. The spectral analysis shows a promising measurement at selected wavelengths for SUV and x-ray dose.