Publications Details

Radiobiological Studies Using Cs-137 Gamma or 320 kV X Rays

Lin, Yong; Scott, Bobby R.; Saxton, Bryanna; Chen, Wenshu; Belinsky, Steven; Potter, Charles A.

There are numerous self-shielded research irradiators used in various facilities throughout the United States. The irradiators employ radioactive sources containing either ¹³⁷Cs or ⁶⁰Co and the irradiators are used for a variety of radiobiological investigations involving cellular and/or animal models. A report from the National Academy of Sciences described security issues associated with particular radiation sources and the desire for their replacement with suitable X-ray irradiators. One possible replacement would be a 320 kV X-ray irradiator. The participants in this research successfully performed in vivo radiobiological studies involving mice exposed to filtered (HVL ≈ 4 mm Cu) 320 kV X rays. Two publications (one published and one submitted at the publishing of this report) documenting key findings are provided in Appendices A and B of this report. The 320 kV X rays were found suitable for in vivo (in mice) cell survival studies and are expected to be suitable for bone marrow transplantation studies using mice but this needs to be experimentally validated.