Nuclear track detectors in cellular radiation biology

Uses of track-etch detectors in cellular radiation biology are reviewed. These applications are described in three main areas. First, with regard to dosimetry, nuclear track detectors should be used to measure beam uniformity, divergence, and fluence. Second, living cells attach and grow on many different kinds of track detectors. This property can be used to measure cell size by using nuclear methods. Cell thickness can be determined by measuring the energy of charged particles impinging a cell monolayer, and behind it. Also, nuclear images have been obtained as replicas on mica; the replicas can then be visualized with scanning electron microscopy. Finally, solid state track detectors play an important role in studies concerning the effectiveness of single-ion traversals in the cell nucleus or cytoplasm. Plastic detectors have been used for this purpose in many space missions in order to assess the risk from space radiation exposure to the crews. Similar techniques have been used in accelerator ground-based experiments. Tracks and living cells can be visualized either simultaneously or at different times. For the latter case, images of the irradiated cells, surviving colonies, and etched detector, being taken at different times, must be superimposed. Solid state nuclear track detectors can also be used in combination with microbeams for these kinds of studies.