Reprint of Inter-comparison of boron concentration measurements at INFN-University of Pavia (Italy) and CNEA (Argentina)

Agustina Portu; Ian Postuma; Mario Alberto Gadan; Gisela Saint Martin; María Silvina Olivera; Saverio Altieri; Nicoletta Protti; Silva Bortolussi

doi:10.1016/j.apradiso.2015.10.012

Reprint of Inter-comparison of boron concentration measurements at INFN-University of Pavia (Italy) and CNEA (Argentina)

Appl Radiat Isot. 2015 Dec:106:171-5. doi: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2015.10.012. Epub 2015 Oct 21.

Authors

Agustina Portu¹, Ian Postuma², Mario Alberto Gadan³, Gisela Saint Martin³, María Silvina Olivera³, Saverio Altieri², Nicoletta Protti², Silva Bortolussi⁴

Affiliations

¹ National Atomic Energy Commission (CNEA), Av. General Paz 1499, B1650KNA, San Martin, Buenos Aires, Argentina; National Council of Scientific and Technological Research (CONICET), Av. Rivadavia 1917, C1033AAJ Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina. Electronic address: agustina.portu@gmail.com.
² Department of Physics, University of Pavia, Via Bassi 6, 27100 Pavia, Italy; National Institute of Nuclear Physics (INFN), Section of Pavia, via Bassi 6, 27100 Pavia, Italy.
³ National Atomic Energy Commission (CNEA), Av. General Paz 1499, B1650KNA, San Martin, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
⁴ National Institute of Nuclear Physics (INFN), Section of Pavia, via Bassi 6, 27100 Pavia, Italy.

PMID: 26508276
DOI: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2015.10.012

Abstract

An inter-comparison of three boron determination techniques was carried out between laboratories from INFN-University of Pavia (Italy) and CNEA (Argentina): alpha spectrometry (alpha-spect), neutron capture radiography (NCR) and quantitative autoradiography (QTA). Samples of different nature were analysed: liquid standards, liver homogenates and tissue samples from different treatment protocols. The techniques showed a good agreement in a concentration range of interest in BNCT (1-100 ppm), thus demonstrating their applicability as precise methods to quantify boron and determine its distribution in tissues.

Keywords: Alpha spectrometry; BNCT; Boron imaging; Boron measurements; Inter-comparison; Neutron autoradiography.