title: Nanodosimetric descriptors of the radiation quality of carbon ions.
abstract: In view of the emerging interest of carbon ions in radiotherapy and of the strong correlation between the track structure and the radiobiological effectiveness of ionising radiations, the track-structure properties of (12)C-ions were studied at particle energies close to the Bragg peak. To perform the investigations, ionisation-cluster-size distributions for nanometre-sized target volumes were measured with the track-nanodosimeter installed at the TANDEM-ALPI accelerator complex at LNL, and calculated using a dedicated Monte Carlo simulation code. The resulting cluster-size distributions are used to derive particular descriptors of particle track structure. Here, the main emphasis is laid on the mean ionisation-cluster size M1 and the cumulative probability Fk of measuring cluster sizes ν ≥ k. From the radiobiological point of view, Fk is of particular interest because an increasing k corresponds to an increase of damages of higher complexity. In addition, Fk saturates with increasing radiation quality like radiobiological cross sections as a function of linear energy transfer. Results will be presented and discussed for (12)C-ions at 96 and 240 MeV.
authors.affiliation: LNL-INFN, viale dell'Università 2, Legnaro I-35020, Italy conte@lnl.infn.it.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Conte
authors.affiliation: LNL-INFN, viale dell'Università 2, Legnaro I-35020, Italy.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Moro
authors.affiliation: LNL-INFN, viale dell'Università 2, Legnaro I-35020, Italy.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Colautti
authors.affiliation: Guest at LNL-INFN, viale dell'Università 2, Legnaro I-35020, Italy.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Grosswendt
mesh_terms: D002250:Carbon Radioisotopes / Q000009:adverse effects*; D003198:Computer Simulation; D006801:Humans; D018499:Linear Energy Transfer / Q000528:radiation effects*; D009010:Monte Carlo Method; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000379:methods*; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D011874:Radiometry / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D002250:Carbon Radioisotopes