Radiation shielding parameters of some antioxidants using Monte Carlo method

Area of Science:

• Medical Physics
• Materials Science
• Computational Physics

Background:

• Antioxidants are increasingly utilized in radiology and radiotherapy.
• Understanding their radiation shielding capabilities is crucial for optimizing treatment efficacy and patient safety.
• Accurate assessment of radiation attenuation properties is essential for material selection in medical applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the radiation shielding parameters, specifically mass attenuation coefficients and half value layer (HVL), of various antioxidants.
• To validate the MCNPX simulation model against established WinXcom data for reliable assessment.
• To compare the radiation attenuation properties among different antioxidant compounds.

Main Methods:

• Utilized MCNPX (version 2.4.0) for simulating radiation interactions with antioxidant structures.
• Validated MCNPX simulation geometry by comparing results with WinXcom data for mass attenuation coefficients.
• Calculated key shielding parameters (mass attenuation coefficients, HVL) for different antioxidants based on validated simulations.

Main Results:

• Achieved excellent agreement between MCNPX simulations and WinXcom data, confirming model validity.
• Identified hesperidin as exhibiting the highest average radiation mass attenuation coefficients.
• Determined delphinidin chloride as having the lowest average radiation mass attenuation coefficients among the studied antioxidants.

Conclusions:

• Monte Carlo simulation (MCNPX) is a powerful and viable alternative to experimental methods for radiation shielding studies.
• The validated simulation setup can be applied to assess diverse biological structures for radiation attenuation.
• The findings provide valuable data for selecting appropriate antioxidants in radiology and radiotherapy applications to enhance radiation shielding.