Characterisation of a Setup for Mixed Beam Exposures of Cells to 241Am Alpha Particles and X-Rays

Exposure of humans to mixed fields of high and low linear energy transfer (LET) radiation occurs in many situations, for example in urban areas with high levels of indoor radon as well as background gamma radiation, during airplane flights or certain forms of radiation therapy. From the perspective of health risk associated with exposure to mixed fields it is important to understand the interactions between the different radiation types. In most cellular investigations on mixed beams the two types of irradiations have been applied sequentially. Simultaneous irradiation is the desirable scenario but requires a dedicated irradiation facility. We have constructed such a facility where cells can be simultaneously exposed to 241 Am alpha particles and 190 kV X-rays at 37oC. In this technical report we present the technical details and the dosimetry of the setup, as well as validating the performance of the setup for clonogenic survival in AA8 Chinese hamster ovary cells. No significant synergistic effect was observed. The relative biological effectiveness (RBE) of the alpha particles was 2.56 for 37% and 1.90 for 10% clonogenic survival.

STAAF Elina;  BREHWENS Karl;  HAGHDOOST Siamak;  PACHNEROVA-BRABCOVA Katerina;  CZUB Joanna;  BRAZIEWICZ Janusz;  NIEVAART Sander;  WOJCIK Andrzej; 

2012-11-30

OXFORD UNIV PRESS

JRC70086

0144-8420,   

http://rpd.oxfordjournals.org/content/151/3/570.full,    https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC70086,   

10.1093/rpd/ncs024,