M. Kurano

ATOMIC FORCE MICROSCOPIC ANALYSES OF HEAVY ION TRACKS IN CR-39

Abstract The track evolution for high energy C and Si ions in CR-39 was studied using an atomic force microscope (AFM). The image processing method of AFM observations and the 3-D images of C and Si tracks are reported. The track diameter increased linearly with the amount of bulk etch of CR-39, but the retardation of growth of the track length was observed at the early stage of the etching. As a result, considerable discrepancies between the track sensitivities calculated by using the track diameter and the length appeared especially in the early stage of the etching. The results reported here show that AFM observations are very useful in practical application to the quantitative analysis for minute etch pits in a track detector.

CR-39 sensitivity analysis on heavy ion beam with atomic force microscope

Abstract Preliminary results of feasibility study to apply atomic force microscope (AFM) to the quantitative analysis for minute etch pits on CR-39 are reported comparing with the optical microscope observation. The growth curves of the Si track diameter and length obtained by both technqiues were discussed in relation to the track sensitivity and the etch induction time.

Validating α-particle emission from 211At-labeled antibodies in single cells for cancer radioimmunotherapy using CR-39 plastic nuclear track detectors

Recently, 211At has received increasing attention as a potential radionuclide for cancer radioimmunotherapy. It is a α-particle emitter, which is extremely effective against malignant cells. We demonstrate a method to verify the efficiency of 211At-labeled trastuzumab antibodies (211At-trastuzumab) against HER2 antigens, which has not been determined for radioimmunotherapy. A CR-39 plastic nuclear detector is used for measuring the position and the linear energy transfer (LET) of individual 211At α- particle tracks. The tracks and 211At-trastuzumab-binding cells were co-visualized by using the geometric information recorded on the CR-39. HER2-positive human gastric cancer cells (NCI-N87), labelled with 211At-trastuzumab, were dropped on the centre of the CR-39 plate. Microscope images of the cells and the corresponding α-tracks acquired by position matching were obtained. In addition, 3.5 cm × 3.5 cm macroscopic images of the whole plate were acquired. The distribution of number of α-particles emitted from single cells suggests that 80% of the 211At-trastuzumab-binding cells emitted α-particles. It also indicates that the α-particles may strike the cells several times along their path. The track-averaged LET of the α-particles is evaluated to be 131 keV/μm. These results will enable quantitative evaluation of delivered doses to target cells, and will be useful for the in vitro assessment of 211At-based radioimmunotherapeutic agents.

Evidence of local concentration of α-particles from 211At-labeled antibodies in liver metastasis tissue

We investigated the local concentration of α-particles from 211At-labeled trastuzumab antibodies against human epidermal growth factor receptor type 2 antigens in liver metastasis tissue of mice. Methods: Mice carrying metastatic cancer in their liver were injected with 211At-agent. After 12 h, the liver was removed and sliced, and 2 tissue samples of liver tissues without lesions and one containing metastatic lesions were mounted on the CR-39 plastic nuclear track detector. Microscope images of the tissues on the CR-39 were acquired. After irradiation for 31 h, the tissues were removed from the CR-39. A microscope image of α-particle tracks on the CR-39 was acquired after chemical etching. The positions of each tissue sample and the emitted α-particle tracks were adjusted to the same coordinates. Results: The positional distribution of α-particle tracks emitted from 211At was consistent within the tissue. The α-particle tracks were mainly allocated in the tumor region of the tissue. The absorbed dose in individual cells segmented by 10-μm intervals was obtained by the spectroscopic analysis of the linear-energy-transfer spectrum. The concentration efficiency—the track density ratio of α-particle tracks in the necrotized tissue, which was the tumor region, to the normal tissue—was found to be 6.0 ± 0.2. In the tumor region, the high–linear-energy-transfer α-particles deposited a large enough dose to cause lethal damage to the cancer cells. Conclusion: The total absorbed dose ranged from 1 to 7 Gy with a peak at around 2 Gy, which would correspond to a 2–3 times higher biologically equivalent dose because of the high relative biological effectiveness of the α-particles emitted from 211At.