Study of charged particle activation analysis (II): Determination of boron concentration in human blood samples

Appl Radiat Isot. 2020 Oct:164:109106. doi: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2020.109106. Epub 2020 Jun 10.

Abstract

Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) is a radiotherapy for the treatment of intractable cancer. In BNCT precise determination of 10B concentration in whole blood sample before neutron irradiation of the patient, as well as accurate neutron dosimetry, is crucial for control of the neutron irradiation time. For this purpose ICP-AES and neutron induced prompt γ-ray analysis are generally used. In Ibaraki Neutron Medical Research Center (iNMRC), an intense proton beam will be accelerated up to 8 MeV, which can also be used for Charged Particle Activation Analysis (CPAA). Thus, in this study, we apply the CPAA utilizing the proton beam to non-destructive and accurate determination of 10B concentration in whole blood sample. A CPAA experiment is performed by utilizing an 8 MeV proton beam from the tandem accelerator of Nuclear Science Research Institute in Japan Atomic Energy Agency. The 478 keV γ-ray of 7Be produced by the 10B(p, α)7Be reaction is used to quantify the 10B in human blood. The 478 keV γ-ray intensity is normalized by the intensities of the 847 keV and 1238 keV γ-rays of 56Co originating from Fe in blood. The normalization methods were found to be linear in the range of 3.27 μg 10B/g to 322 μg 10B/g with correlation coefficients of better than 0.9999.

Keywords: (10)B Determination in human blood; Boron neutron capture therapy; Charged particle activation analysis.

MeSH terms

  • Boron / blood*
  • Boron / standards
  • Boron Neutron Capture Therapy / methods
  • Calibration
  • Gamma Rays
  • Humans
  • Mass Spectrometry / methods
  • Radiometry / methods
  • Radiotherapy Dosage
  • Reference Standards
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Uncertainty

Substances

  • Boron