The minimum Do for cell killing for alpha-particle emitters uniformly distributed in an extended medium.

Radiat Res. 1998 Jun;149(6):646-8

Authors: Charlton DE

Abstract

For cells irradiated by alpha particles in suspension, there is presently no simple test to show that the cell killing can be attributed to alpha-particle passages through the nuclei. In this communication, for a uniform distribution of alpha-particle sources and spherical nuclei, a D0 is calculated such that at least 63% of the cell nuclei have at least one alpha-particle passage. For a uniform distribution of alpha-particle sources and spherical nuclei, it is shown that the average dose for 63% of the cell nuclei to be hit (37% not hit) is equal to the average dose per hit. For this condition an energy deposition of any size would result in cell death and the average dose is the minimum D0 possible. Minimum D0 values are calculated using a Monte Carlo treatment for nuclear diameters from 4 to 10 microm and initial alpha-particle energies between 3.18 and 8.38 MeV.

PMID: 9611104 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]