Ponente
Descripción
Particle beam radiation, and therefore neutrons, are classified as ionising radiation due to their biological effect. They can affect biological tissue in two main ways: by inducing cell death and by inducing genetic alterations that can lead to stochastic or deterministic effects in cells. Neutrons have been classified as high LET (Linear Energy Transfer) particles and, due to the large number of ionizations they produce, have the capacity to induce non-repairable lesions in DNA, compared to low LET radiation such as photons (conventional radiotherapy). The study of the biological damage produced by neutrons has so far been a complex issue given the difficulty of accessing neutron sources where they can be carried out. The DONES facility will provide a high flux of neutrons with a broad energy spectrum that will allow for the first time to study the effects of high dose rate radiation in biological organisms, to obtain data on the biological risk in space missions and to carry out studies of the energy dependence of the relative biological effectiveness (RBE) factors, of interest for proton and neutron therapies and radiological protection. In order to design a radiobiology laboratory to perform these types of studies at the DONES facility, we have begun to set up and carry out cell line irradiation experiments with the the CIEMAT ²⁵²Cf source. Specifically, the A375 melanoma cell line has been irradiated and cell survival has been analyzed using viability and clonogenicity assays. The results will be compared with those previously obtained by the research group at other sources with neutrons of different energies, such as those of the Laue-Langevin Institute (ILL) in Grenoble and the National Accelerator Centre (CNA) in Seville.
