Atomic radiations in the decay of medical radioisotopes: a physics perspective.

B Q Lee, T Kibédi, A E Stuchbery, K A Robertson

Journal: Computational and mathematical methods in medicine 2013;2012():651475

PMID: 22924061

Free Full Text on PubMed Central View on PubMed

Abstract

Auger electrons emitted in nuclear decay offer a unique tool to treat cancer cells at the scale of a DNA molecule. Over the last forty years many aspects of this promising research goal have been explored, however it is still not in the phase of serious clinical trials. In this paper, we review the physical processes of Auger emission in nuclear decay and present a new model being developed to evaluate the energy spectrum of Auger electrons, and hence overcome the limitations of existing computations.

Address: Department of Nuclear Physics, Research School of Physics and Engineering, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia.

DOI: 10.1155/2012/651475

Link outs

Free resources

Full Text Sources:

MeSH Terms: DNA, Electrons, Humans, Iodine Radioisotopes, Kinetics, Models, Theoretical, Neoplasms, Physics, Radiation Dosage, Radiation Oncology, Radioactivity, Radioisotopes