Program Information
Radiosensitization Due to Gold Nanoparticles: A Monte Carlo Cellular Dosimetry Investigation of An Expansive Parameter Space
M Martinov*, R Thomson , Carleton University, Ottawa, ON
Presentations
SU-E-T-667 (Sunday, July 12, 2015) 3:00 PM - 6:00 PM Room: Exhibit Hall
Purpose: To investigate dose enhancement to cellular compartments following gold nanoparticle (GNP) uptake in tissue, varying cell and tissue morphology, intra and extracellular GNP distribution, and source energy using Monte Carlo (MC) simulations.
Methods: Models of single and multiple cells are developed for normal and cancerous tissues; cells (outer radii 5-10 μm) are modeled as concentric spheres comprising the nucleus (radii 2.5-7.5 μm) and cytoplasm. GNP distributions modeled include homogeneous distributions throughout the cytoplasm, variable numbers of GNP-containing endosomes within the cytoplasm, or distributed in a spherical shell about the nucleus. Gold concentrations range from 1 to 30 mg/g. Dose to nucleus and to cytoplasm for simulations including GNPs are compared to simulations without GNPs to compute Nuclear and Cytoplasm Dose Enhancement Factors (NDEF, CDEF). Photon source energies are between 20 keV and 1.25 MeV.
Results: DEFs are highly sensitive to GNP intracellular distribution; for a 2.5 μm radius nucleus irradiated by a 30 keV source, NDEF varies from 1.2 for a single endosome containing all GNPs to 8.2 for GNPs distributed about the nucleus (7 mg/g). DEFs vary with cell dimensions and source energy: NDEFs vary from 2.5 (90 keV) to 8.2 (30 keV) for a 2.5 μm radius nucleus and from 1.1 (90 keV) to 1.3 (30 keV) for a 7.5 μm radius nucleus, both with GNPs in a spherical shell about the nucleus (7 mg/g). NDEF and CDEF are generally different within a single cell. For multicell models, the presence of gold within intervening tissues between source and target perturbs the fluence reaching cellular targets, resulting in DEF inhomogeneities within a population of irradiated cells.
Conclusion: DEFs vary by an order of magnitude for different cell models, GNP distributions, and source energies, demonstrating the importance of detailed modelling for advancing GNP development for radiotherapy.
Funding Support, Disclosures, and Conflict of Interest: Funding provided by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Council of Canada (NSERC), and the Canada Research Chairs Program (CRC)
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