Considering the significance of low-energy electrons(LEEs;0–20 eV) in radiobiology, the sensitization potential of gold nanoparticles(AuNPs) as high-flux LEE emitters when irradiated with sub-keV electrons has been s...Considering the significance of low-energy electrons(LEEs;0–20 eV) in radiobiology, the sensitization potential of gold nanoparticles(AuNPs) as high-flux LEE emitters when irradiated with sub-keV electrons has been suggested. In this study, a track-structure Monte Carlo simulation code using the dielectric theory was developed to simulate the transport of electrons below 50 keV in gold. In this code, modifications, particularly for elastic scattering, are implemented for a more precise description of the LEE emission in secondary electron emission. This code was validated using the secondary electron yield and backscattering coefficient. To ensure dosimetry accuracy, we further verified the code for energy deposition calculations using the Monte Carlo toolkit, Geant4. The development of this code provides a basis for future studies regarding the role of AuNPs in targeted radionuclide radiotherapy.展开更多
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 12004180, 21906083, 11975122, and 22006067)the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (No. BK20190384)the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Nos. NE2020006, NS2022095)。
文摘Considering the significance of low-energy electrons(LEEs;0–20 eV) in radiobiology, the sensitization potential of gold nanoparticles(AuNPs) as high-flux LEE emitters when irradiated with sub-keV electrons has been suggested. In this study, a track-structure Monte Carlo simulation code using the dielectric theory was developed to simulate the transport of electrons below 50 keV in gold. In this code, modifications, particularly for elastic scattering, are implemented for a more precise description of the LEE emission in secondary electron emission. This code was validated using the secondary electron yield and backscattering coefficient. To ensure dosimetry accuracy, we further verified the code for energy deposition calculations using the Monte Carlo toolkit, Geant4. The development of this code provides a basis for future studies regarding the role of AuNPs in targeted radionuclide radiotherapy.