The role of gelatin in a methacrylic acid based gel dosimeter

Abstract

In this work, the dose response of a methacrylic acid based gel dosimeter containing different concentrations of gelatin is examined to clarify the role of gelatin in the polymerization process. Direct temperature monitoring of the gel throughout the irradiation process is adopted as the method. In addition, to investigate the function of gelatin on polymerization, another experiments are performed after replacing gelatin with some acids. From the results, it is concluded that gelatin is an indispensable component in the polymerization reaction which acts as a "trigger", and that the peptide structure in gelatin also assumes an important role. © 2009 IOP Publishing Ltd.