info:eu-repo/semantics/article
UV-C radiation effect on nuclear tracks of different ions in polycarbonate
Fecha
2020-08Registro en:
Saint Martin, María Laura Gisela; Portu, Agustina Mariana; Ibarra, M. L.; Alurralde, Martín Alejo; UV-C radiation effect on nuclear tracks of different ions in polycarbonate; Pergamon-Elsevier Science Ltd; Radiation Physics and Chemistry (Oxford); 173; 8-2020; 108936-108942
0969-806X
CONICET Digital
CONICET
Autor
Saint Martin, María Laura Gisela
Portu, Agustina Mariana
Ibarra, M. L.
Alurralde, Martín Alejo
Resumen
The neutron autoradiography technique was developed in our laboratory using polycarbonate nuclear track detectors, to qualitatively and quantitatively analyze boron distribution and concentration in biological samples from experimental models coming from Boron Neutron Capture Therapy research. Spatial resolution was later improved by generating an imprint of the biological sample (e.g. cellular culture, tissue sections) on the detector surface, which can be microscopically observed together with nuclear tracks originated by 10B capture products. This methodology was developed for polycarbonate detectors and involves UV-C light irradiation of the sample-detector assembly. The chemical etching process of the detector, usually performed to enlarge the nuclear tracks, also “reveals” the imprint of the sample. In this work we report a fading effect in nuclear tracks due to UV-C exposure. Significant differences in track density produced by alpha ions and Li recoils coming from the neutron capture reaction, 10B(n,α)7Li, were found between exposed and unexposed to UV-C light (254 nm wavelength) polycarbonate foils. A decreasing relation between track density and exposure time to UV-C radiation could also be observed for these ions. To analyze the effect produced by UV-C radiation on nuclear tracks of different ions, polycarbonate detectors irradiated with 7Li, 12C, 16O, 32S, 127I, 197Au beams and air degraded alpha particles from a241Am source were also studied. A wavelength dependent photodegradation mechanism affecting the polycarbonate detector would be altering the nuclear tracks development in different ways, according to ion damage characteristics.