The irradiation of V79 mammalian cells by protons with energies below 2 MeV. Part II. Measurement of oxygen enhancement ratios and DNA damage.

The effectiveness of low-energy (below 2 MeV) protons at inducing DNA damage in the form of single- and double-strand breaks has been determined. Protons with mean energies of 1.90 MeV, 1.15 MeV and 0.76 MeV corresponding to track average LETs of 17 keV/microns, 24 keV/microns and 32 keV/microns, respectively, have been used and compared with 250 kVp X-rays and 3.8 MeV 238Pu alpha-particles. Although there was variation in the RBE for DNA ssb induction with LET, the RBEs for dsb induction at all three proton energies and for 3.8 MeV alpha-particles were all around 1.0. This suggests that, if DNA dsb are important in radiation-induced cell lethality, the probability of an induced dsb leading to a lethal event increases with increasing LET of radiation. Oxygen enhancement ratios were measured for both cell survival and DNA dsb induction, and in both cases a decrease in OER with increasing LET was observed.