ABSTRACT
The use of contrast agents, particularly those made of high atomic number elements like gold nanoparticles, to enhance the X-ray absorption properties of tissue has recently gained attention in the context of radiotherapy treatments. Because these contrast agents alter the secondary electron field in the irradiated medium by adding an Auger electron component, it is necessary to determine the change in the microdosimetric spectra brought about by the incorporation of such agents. Using Monte Carlo simulation, it is shown that the linear energy transfer and the beam quality factor in the vicinity of a gold nanoparticle irradiated with kilovoltage X-ray beams increase substantially when compared with irradiation without the gold nanoparticles present.
Subject(s)
Gold/radiation effects , Metal Nanoparticles/radiation effects , Radiometry/methods , Electrons , Gold/chemistry , Linear Energy Transfer , Metal Nanoparticles/chemistry , Monte Carlo Method , Photons , Relative Biological Effectiveness , X-RaysABSTRACT
Radiation dose assessment is essential for several medical treatments and diagnostic procedures. In this context, nanotechnology has been used in the development of improved radiation sensors, with higher sensitivity as well as smaller sizes and energy dependence. This paper deals with the synthesis and characterization of gold/alanine nanocomposites with varying mass percentage of gold, for application as radiation sensors. Alanine is an excellent stabilizing agent for gold nanoparticles because the size of the nanoparticles does not augment with increasing mass percentage of gold, as evidenced by UV-vis spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering, and transmission electron microscopy. X-ray diffraction patterns suggest that the alanine crystalline orientation undergoes alterations upon the addition of gold nanoparticles. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy indicates that there is interaction between the gold nanoparticles and the amine group of the alanine molecules, which may be the reason for the enhanced stability of the nanocomposite. The application of the nanocomposites as radiation detectors was evaluated by the electron spin resonance technique. The sensitivity is improved almost 3 times in the case of the nanocomposite containing 3% (w/w) gold, so it can be easily tuned by changing the amount of gold nanoparticles in the nanocomposites, without the size of the nanoparticles influencing the radiation absorption. In conclusion, the featured properties, such as homogeneity, nanoparticle size stability, and enhanced sensitivity, make these nanocomposites potential candidates for the construction of small-sized radiation sensors with tunable sensitivity for application in several medical procedures.
Subject(s)
Alanine/chemistry , Alanine/radiation effects , Gold/chemistry , Gold/radiation effects , Nanoparticles/chemistry , Nanoparticles/radiation effects , Radiometry/instrumentation , Equipment Design , Equipment Failure Analysis , Feasibility Studies , Radiation Dosage , TransducersABSTRACT
This paper reports the synthesis of Au nanoparticles by 30-fs pulses irradiation of a sample containing HAuCl4 and chitosan, a biopolymer used as reducing agent and stabilizer. We observed that it is a multi-photon induced process, with a threshold irradiance of 3.8 × 10(11) W/cm2 at 790 nm. By transmission electron microscopy we observed nanoparticles from 8 to 50 nm with distinct shapes. Infrared spectroscopy indicated that the reduction of gold and consequent production of nanoparticles is related to the fs-pulse induced oxidation of hydroxyl to carbonyl groups in chitosan.