The biological effects of Auger electrons compared to α-particles and Li ions

Abstract

V-79 Chinese hamster cell survival studies were performed which involved the stimulation of Auger electron emission in gadolinium after thermal neutron capture. When a porphyrin that had previously been labeled with boron (10BOPP) was also labeled with Gd (Gd-10BOPP), the cells were incubated with Gd-10BOPP to assess the compound's ability to physiologically transport the Gd into the cell, and localize the Gd atoms in or near the cell's critical target, presumably the DNA. It was anticipated that Auger electron emission, stimulated during the 157Gd (n, γ) 158Gd interaction, would impart additional high LET damage to that observed from the α-particle and Li ion during the 10B(n, α) 7L reaction.