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- 2017 (2)
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- Dosimetry (2) (entfernen)
The determination of the microscopic dose-damage relationship for DNA in an aqueous environment is of a fundamental interest for dosimetry and applications in radiation therapy and protection. We combine geant4 particle-scattering simulations in water with calculations concerning the movement of biomolecules to obtain the energy deposit in the biologically relevant nanoscopic volume. We juxtaposition these results to the experimentally determined damage to obtain the dose-damage relationship at a molecular level. This approach is tested for an experimentally challenging system concerning the direct irradiation of plasmid DNA (pUC19) in water with electrons as primary particles. Here a microscopic target model for the plasmid DNA based on the relation of lineal energy and radiation quality is used to calculate the effective target volume. It was found that on average fewer than two ionizations within a 7.5-nm radius around the sugar-phosphate backbone are sufficient to cause a single strand break, with a corresponding median lethal energy deposit being E1/2=6±4 eV. The presented method is applicable for ionizing radiation (e.g., γ rays, x rays, and electrons) and a variety of targets, such as DNA, proteins, or cells.
In dosimetry the determination of the effectiveness of the damaging processes is standardized and accounted for by the radiation and tissue weighting factor. For the underlying constituents of the tissue, that is the various biomolecules, such a systematic approach doesn't exist. This makes it difficult to compare results obtained under different experimental conditions. In the following work, we will describe a method to obtain comparable values for the radiation-biomolecule interaction, measured under different conditions. This approach can lead to standardization of dosedamage relationship at the molecular level. Such approach is necessary for a better understanding of the relations between the damage of the single constituents of biological tissue and the whole – finally gaining a more complete picture of irradiation damage.