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Diffuse Optical Spectroscopy for the Quantitative Assessment of Acute Ionizing Radiation Induced Skin Toxicity Using a Mouse Model

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EPR dosimetry in chemically treated fingernails.

A Romanyukha¹, F Trompier, B Leblanc

¹Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA.

Radiation Measurements

|December 29, 2007

Summary

Human fingernails can estimate radiation dose using EPR. A new chemical treatment significantly reduces interfering signals, enabling low-dose detection shortly after exposure for radiation dosimetry.

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Area of Science:

Biophysics
Radiation Dosimetry
Chemical Analysis

Background:

Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) measurements of radiation-induced radicals in human fingernails offer a method for retrospective radiation dose estimation.
Mechanically induced EPR signals (MIS) and background signals (BKS) can interfere with accurate dose assessment due to overlapping spectral parameters with radiation-induced signals (RIS).

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate chemical treatments for reducing MIS and BKS in fingernail samples for EPR-based radiation dosimetry.
To assess the impact of chemical treatment on the accuracy and sensitivity of radiation dose estimation.

Main Methods:

Human fingernail samples were subjected to various chemical treatments to mitigate interfering EPR signals.
EPR spectroscopy was used to measure radiation-induced signals (RIS) and assess the reduction of MIS and BKS after treatment.
Dose-response curves were analyzed before and after chemical treatment.

Main Results:

A 20-minute treatment with 0.1 M dithiothreitol (DTT) aqueous solution effectively reduced MIS and BKS by a factor of 10.
This reduction facilitates the potential measurement of doses as low as 1 Gy shortly after irradiation.
The DTT treatment, while reducing interfering signals, also decreased RIS intensity and altered dose dependence, necessitating calibration curves.

Conclusions:

Chemical treatment of fingernails with DTT is a promising method to improve the accuracy of EPR-based radiation dosimetry.
A field-deployable protocol for EPR dosimetry using treated fingernails could aid in the triage of individuals exposed to significant radiation doses.
Further development is needed to optimize the chemical treatment and calibration for practical application in radiation accident dosimetry.