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Updated: Aug 4, 2026
12:22
Speciation and Bioavailability Measurements of Environmental Plutonium Using Diffusion in Thin Films
Published on: November 9, 2015
A versatile plutonium-238 irradiator for radiobiological studies with alpha-particles
D T Goodhead1, D A Bance, A Stretch
1Medical Research Council Radiobiology Unit, Chilton, Didcot, UK.
International Journal of Radiation Biology
|January 1, 1991
Summary
A new alpha-particle irradiator enables precise in vitro studies of mammalian cells. This versatile instrument allows detailed analysis of alpha-particle biological effects, crucial for understanding radiation damage from internal radionuclides.
Area of Science:
- Radiation Biology
- Cellular and Molecular Biology
- Biophysics
Background:
- Mammalian cell irradiation requires precise control over particle energy, Linear Energy Transfer (LET), dose, and dose rate.
- Understanding the biological impact of alpha-particles is vital due to their high biological effectiveness and relevance to internal radionuclide exposure.
Purpose of the Study:
- To construct and characterize a versatile irradiator for in vitro studies of mammalian cells using alpha-particles.
- To enable well-defined irradiation conditions for investigating alpha-particle-induced biological effects.
Main Methods:
- Construction of an alpha-particle irradiator utilizing approximately 1.2 x 10^9 Bq of 238Pu.
- Irradiation of mammalian cells (monolayers or suspensions) with alpha-particles (0.8-4.2 MeV, LET 266-102 keV/µm) at selectable dose rates (10^-4 to 24 Gy/min).
- Incorporation of incubation and gassing facilities for protracted irradiations.
Main Results:
- The irradiator provides well-defined alpha-particle beams with controllable energy, LET, direction, dose, and dose rate.
- Standard configuration allows irradiation of cell monolayers with 3.26 MeV alpha-particles (LET 121 keV/µm) at dose rates from 10^-4 to 2 Gy/min.
- Single dish irradiation is possible at dose rates up to 24 Gy/min.
Conclusions:
- The developed alpha-particle irradiator is a versatile tool for in vitro radiobiology research.
- It is particularly suitable for studying biological effects of alpha-particles relevant to in vivo exposure from radionuclides like radon and actinides.
- The system has been successfully applied to investigate various alpha-particle-induced effects in different cell types.
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