A pilot study was performed to evaluate a new concept for a radiation biodosimetry method. Proton transfer reaction-mass spectrometry (PTR-MS) was used to find out whether radiation induces changes in the composition of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the headspace of in vitro cultured cells. Two different cell lines, retinal pigment epithelium cells hTERT-RPE1 and lung epithelium cells A-549, were irradiated with gamma radiation at doses of 4 Gy and 8 Gy. For measuring the cell-specific effects, the VOC concentrations in the headspace of flasks containing cells plus medium, as well as of flasks containing pure medium were analyzed for changes before and after irradiation. No significant radiation-induced alterations in VOC concentrations in the headspace could be observed after irradiation.
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