DEVELOPMENT OF POLYMERIC MATERIALS FOR X-RAY DOSIMETRY WITH ENHANCED OPTICAL SENSIBILITY

Abstract

The use of a new reagent with the capacity of forming colored organo-metallic complexes with metal ions is herein studied for its application in X-Ray dosimetry, aiming to assess its effect on the dose-sensitivity of polymer gel dosimetry. The improvement of the sensitivity of polymeric dosimeters, commonly used to quantitatively register dose distribution in radiotherapy, requires considering both the intrinsic mechanism involved in the irradiation of the dosimetry system (polymerization) and the selected readout technique (e.g. spectroscopy techniques). One of the most used readout methods is measuring the change in the optical density of the dosimeters after their irradiation. The formulation of a new sensitive material able to form organo-metallic complexes and the potentiality of achieving significant changes in the optical density in the irradiated region is studied in this work. For this purpose, a new monomer (GMA-IDA) was synthesized and used in the polymerization with other monomers, commonly employed in polymer gel dosimetry (acrylamide, N,N’-methylenebisacrylamide y N-isopropilacrylamide. The polymerization of the new sensitive material was initiated by a redox reaction (APS/TEMED) or by ionizing radiation (X-Rays), then the effect of the new monomer over the performance of the dosimetry material was evaluated. Results indicated that the new formed polymer has the capacity of forming colored complexes with Cu²⁺.