Nanolesions induced by heavy ions in human tissues: Experimental and theoretical studies

• Marcus Bleicher,
• Lucas Burigo,
• Marco Durante,
• Maren Herrlitz,
• Michael Krämer,
• Igor Mishustin,
• Iris Müller,
• Francesco Natale,
• Igor Pshenichnov,
• Stefan Schramm,
• Gisela Taucher-Scholz and
• Cathrin Wälzlein

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2012, 3, 556–563, doi:10.3762/bjnano.3.64

• effects starts from stochastic energy deposition on the nanometer scale and the corresponding lesions in biological molecules, primarily DNA. We have developed experimental techniques to visualize DNA nanolesions induced by heavy ions. Nanolesions appear in cells as “streaks” which can be visualized by

• . Keywords: DNA repair; heavy ions; microdosimetry; Monte Carlo simulations; nanolesions; radiation-induced nanostructures; Introduction In a low-dose field of γ-rays, such as that normally experienced on Earth due to background radiation, each human cell is traversed by very few electrons, which hence

• damage at the tissue level. Moreover, Monte Carlo codes should be able to simulate the damage at the micrometer and even nanometer level, basing on the stochastic energy deposition pattern. One problem associated with the formation of nanolesions is the nonuniform structure of the target, i.e., of the