ISSN:
1432-2099
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Biology
,
Physics
Notes:
Abstract Irradiation of human lymphocytes by α-particles under different conditions has been seen to be substantially more effective in the induction of dicentric chromosomes than irradiation by γ-rays. However, the relative biological effectiveness (RBE) determined in these studies differed by a factor of more than 10. These variations in RBE are likely to be due in part to differing exposure conditions. Therefore, a technique designed to insure uniformity of irradiation was developed in the present study, and complications due to the cell cycle kinetics were controlled. After stimulation with phytohaemagglutinin (PHA), separated lymphocytes were allowed to attach for 3 h to the thin foil bottom of an irradiation chamber. Cell monolayers were exposed with α-particles from 241Am. Strong over-dispersion was noted for the cell-to-cell variance of the number of dicentrics. The dose response of dicentrics was linear, with a yield of 0.27 dicentrics per cell and per Gy. This corresponds to a low dose RBE of 15 relative to 137Cs γ-ray exposure under the same experimental conditions.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
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