Nanodosimetry of Auger electrons: A case study from the decay of I and 0-18-eV electron stopping cross sections of cytosine.

Radiopharmaceuticals emitting Auger electrons are often injected into patients undergoing cancer treatment with targeted radionuclide therapy (TRT). In this type of radiotherapy, the radiation source is radial and most of the emitted primary particles are low-energy electrons (LEEs) having kinetic energies distributed mostly from zero to a few hundred electron volts with very short ranges in biological media. These LEEs generate a high density of energy deposits and clustered damage, thus offering a relative biological effectiveness comparable to that of alpha particles. In this paper, we present a simple model and corresponding measurements to assess the energy deposited near the site of the radiopharmaceuticals in TRT. As an example, a calculation is performed for the decay of a single I radionuclide surrounded by a 1-nm-radius spherical shell of cytosine molecules using the energy spectrum of LEEs emitted by I along with their stopping cross sections between 0 and 18 eV. The dose absorbed by the cytosine shell, which occupies a volume of 4 nm, is extremely high. It amounts to 79 kGy per decay of which 3%, 39%, and 58% is attributed to vibrational excitations, electronic excitations, and ionization processes, respectively.