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Dose point kernel for boron‐11 decay and the cellular S values in boron neutron capture therapy
Author(s) -
Ma Yunzhi,
Geng JinPeng,
Gao Song,
Bao Shanglian
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
medical physics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.473
H-Index - 180
eISSN - 2473-4209
pISSN - 0094-2405
DOI - 10.1118/1.2358849
Subject(s) - boron , alpha particle , neutron , atomic physics , lithium (medication) , radius , dosimetry , isotopes of boron , ion , neutron capture , isotopes of lithium , helium , nuclear physics , monte carlo method , radiochemistry , materials science , physics , chemistry , nuclear medicine , statistics , ion exchange , mathematics , medicine , computer security , quantum mechanics , computer science , endocrinology
The study of the radiobiology of boron neutron capture therapy is based on the cellular level dosimetry of boron‐10's thermal neutron capture reactionB10 ( n , α ) Li7 , in which one 1.47 MeV helium‐4 ion and one 0.84 MeV lithium‐7 ion are spawned. Because of the chemical preference of boron‐10 carrier molecules, the dose is heterogeneously distributed in cells. In the present work, the (scaled) dose point kernel of boron‐11 decay, calledB11 ‐DPK, was calculated by GEANT4 Monte Carlo simulation code. The DPK curve drops suddenly at the radius of 4.26 μ m , the continuous slowing down approximation (CSDA) range of a lithium‐7 ion. Then, after a slight ascending, the curve decreases to near zero when the radius goes beyond 8.20 μ m , which is the CSDA range of a 1.47 MeV helium‐4 ion. With the DPK data, S values for nuclei and cells with the boron‐10 on the cell surface are calculated for different combinations of cell and nucleus sizes. The S value for a cell radius of 10 μ m and a nucleus radius of 5 μ m is slightly larger than the value published by Tung et al. [Appl. Radiat. Isot. 61, 739–743 (2004)]. This result is potentially more accurate than the published value since it includes the contribution of a lithium‐7 ion as well as the alpha particle.