Vafapour Hassan, Rafiepour Payman, Moradgholi Javad, Mortazavi Smj
Ionizing and Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection Research Center (INIRPRC), Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
Department of Nuclear Engineering, School of Mechanical Engineering, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran.
Radiat Environ Biophys. 2025 Mar;64(1):137-150. doi: 10.1007/s00411-025-01111-9. Epub 2025 Jan 28.
Mechanistic Monte Carlo simulations have proven invaluable in tackling complex challenges in radiobiology, for example for protecting astronauts from solar particle events (SPEs) during deep space missions which remains an underexplored area. In this study, the Geant4-DNA Monte Carlo code was used to assess the DNA damage caused by SPEs and evaluate the protective effectiveness of a multilayer shelter. By examining the February 1956 and October 1989 SPEs-two extreme cases-the results showed that the proposed shelter reduced DNA damage by up to 57.9% for the October 1989 SPE and 36.7% for the February 1956 SPE. Cell repair and survival modeling further revealed enhanced cell survival with the shelter, reducing lethal DNA damage by up to 64.3% and 88.2% for February 1956 and October 1989 SPEs, respectively. The results presented here highlight the crucial importance of developing effective radiation shielding to protect astronauts during solar storms and emphasizes the need to improve predictions of solar particle events to optimize shelter design.
机理蒙特卡罗模拟已被证明在应对放射生物学中的复杂挑战方面具有不可估量的价值，例如在深空任务中保护宇航员免受太阳粒子事件（SPEs）的影响，而这仍是一个未被充分探索的领域。在本研究中，使用Geant4-DNA蒙特卡罗代码来评估太阳粒子事件造成的DNA损伤，并评估多层防护层的防护效果。通过研究1956年2月和1989年10月的太阳粒子事件——两个极端案例——结果表明，对于1989年10月的太阳粒子事件，所提出的防护层可将DNA损伤降低多达57.9%，对于1956年2月的太阳粒子事件可降低36.7%。细胞修复和存活模型进一步揭示了防护层可提高细胞存活率，对于1956年2月和1989年10月的太阳粒子事件，分别将致命DNA损伤降低多达64.3%和88.2%。此处呈现的结果凸显了在太阳风暴期间开发有效辐射屏蔽以保护宇航员的至关重要性，并强调了改进太阳粒子事件预测以优化防护层设计的必要性。
