Damage estimation resulting from Auger electron-emitting radionuclides based on the 1ZBB model in the presence of different nanoparticles: A Monte Carlo simulation study

Today, radiotherapy is considered one of the most effective methods for cancer treatment. Research has shown that using nanoparticles with high atomic numbers such as gold, silver and gadolinium as radiosensitizers in radiotherapy is very effective and increases energy deposition in the target organ due to their high atomic number. On the other hand, using short-range charged particles, such as auger electrons, given their relatively low energy, enables the destruction of damaged tissue cells with minimal damage to surrounding healthy cells. In this study, the effects of diffusion of auger electrons from radionuclides such as 99mTc, 201Tl, 123I, 125I, 111In, and 67Ga on single-strand breaks (SSBs), direct and indirect double-strand breaks (DSBs), and hybrid double-strand breaks (Hybrid DSBs) in the presence and absence of gold, gadolinium and silver nanoparticles were investigated using the Geant4-DNA toolkit for the 1ZBB model (selected from the Protein Data Bank library). The results show that among the mentioned auger emitters, 125I and 99mTc cause the most and 123I the least DNA damage. On the other hand, adding gold, gadolinium, and silver nanoparticles can increase DNA damage by 59%, 56%, and 55%, respectively. The results of this study show that 125I and 99mTc are more effective options for inhibiting or controlling cancer cells. In addition, adding gold nanoparticles can also lead to improved treatment efficacy.