COPPER NANOPARTICLES FOR IONIZING RADIATION DOSIMETRY FORTHERANOSTICS

Abstract

The present investigation is focused on the effect of copper nanoparticles infused in a PAGAT dosimetry system. Monte Carlo simulations using the PENELOPE code were employed to analyze a system composed of stabilized copper nanoparticles coated with ascorbic acid. The system was subjected to irradiation with a 150 keV monoenergetic photon beam, representative of orthovoltage applications. The study evaluated the influence of three key factors: the size of the copper nanoparticle (ranging from 10 to 300 nm), the coating thickness (ranging from 25 to 400 nm), and the coating density (ranging from 1.162 to 1.650 g/mL). The findings indicate a slight increase in dose enhancement with increasingnanoparticle size. Conversely, an increase in stabilizer thickness leads to a decrease in dose enhancement in the PAGAT system. The effect of changes in stabilizer density on dose enhancement is found to be less significant. Additionally, the photon fluence spectrum was analyzed for the three studied cases to identify and evaluate the characteristic fluorescence lines of copper. This analysis confirms the presence of characteristic X-rays derived from the presence of copper nanoparticles, which could potentially serve as a foundation for specific imaging techniques.

Keywords

• polymer gel
• nanoparticles
• theranostics
• monte carlo simulations