Nanoscintometry : a pathway to absolute dosimetry of ionising radiations

Content Provider	Semantic Scholar
Author	Mcdougall, Ian
Copyright Year	1998
Abstract	It is now accepted that the deleterious effects induced by ionising radiations in mammalian cells are caused by the simultaneous breaking of both strands of the DNA helix by a single track. These effects are optimised when the mean free path of primary ionisation, A,, matches the 2 nanometre mean chord distribution of DNA. However, there is currently no method of measuring radiation damage in terms of X. The aim of this project has been to design and construct a detector with a X response function capable of providing a measure of the absolute biological effectiveness of a radiation, independent of radiation type. Organic scintillation molecules, in the condensed phase, have been identified as being most suitable for bio-effectiveness measurements. Tissue equivalent and of comparable interaction cross-section, these nanodetectors are capable of signalling individual interactions with the emission of a scintillation photon, or scinton. Using a 20 |Lim scintillation film and DEP hybrid photodiode, spectra containing single and plural scinton events were recorded. These spectra reveal unique differences in the radiation quality of photon-emitting radioisotopes. A model of radiation action on scintillators in the condensed phase, analogous to the direct and indirect actions observed in intra-cellular DNA, has been developed and used
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Alternate Webpage(s)	https://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/bitstream/handle/10023/13359/IanCameronMcDougallPhdThesis.pdf?isAllowed=y&sequence=2
Language	English
Access Restriction	Open
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article