Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “INTERSTITIALS”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 1,783 records · Page 99
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2017

In‐situ measurements of lattice expansion related to defect generation during flash sintering

Abstract We report results from in‐situ measurements of lattice expansion during flash sintering of 3 mol% yttria stabilized tetragonal zirconia taken at the Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory. The expansion is anisotropic, with the relative expansion of the a ‐lattice constant exceeding that of the c ‐lattice constant. The anisotropic expansion cannot be explained by thermal expansion and is consistent with predictions from ab‐initio calculations based upon the generation of vacancy‐interstitial pairs of zirconium and oxygen.

Lebrun, J. ‐M.↗
DOE OSTI2019

Impact of irradiation induced dislocation loops on thermal conductivity in ceramics

Experimental work aimed at understanding the role of dislocation loops in limiting phonon mediated thermal transport in ceramics is presented. Faulted dislocation loops, having diameters of a few nanometers, were introduced by irradiating a polycrystalline cerium dioxide sample with 1.6 MeV protons at 700°C. XRD analysis indicated that irradiated samples retained their crystalline structure and exhibit very little lattice expansion suggesting a low concentration of point defects. Additionally, further microstructure characterization using transmission electron microscopy revealed that interstitial type faulted dislocation loops were primarily created as expected for these irradiation conditions. Thermal conductivity of the damaged layer was measured using a modulated thermoreflectance approach. Analysis of the experimental data using the classical Klemens-Callaway approach reveals that the conductivity reduction is primarily due to dislocation loops, while point defects and voids play only a minor role. These results provide experimental confirmation that faulted loops offer a unique arrangement for displaced atoms that leads to an unusually large reduction of thermal conductivity.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Amplification and adaptation of centromeric repeats in polyploid switchgrass species

Centromeres in most higher eukaryotes are composed of long arrays of satellite repeats from a single satellite repeat family. Why centromeres are dominated by a single satellite repeat and how the satellite repeats originate and evolve are among the most intriguing and long-standing questions in centromere biology. We identified eight satellite repeats in the centromeres of tetraploid switchgrass (Panicum virgatum). Seven repeats showed characteristics associated with classical centromeric repeats with monomeric lengths ranging from 166 to 187 bp. Interestingly, these repeats share an 80-bp DNA motif. We demonstrate that this 80-bp motif may dictate translational and rotational phasing of the centromeric repeats with the cenH3 nucleosomes. The sequence of the last centromeric repeat, Pv156, is identical to the 5S ribosomal RNA genes. We demonstrate that a 5S ribosomal RNA gene array was recruited to be the functional centromere for one of the switchgrass chromosomes. Our findings reveal that certain types of satellite repeats, which are associated with unique sequence features and are composed of monomers in mono-nucleosomal length, are favorable for centromeres. Centromeric repeats may undergo dynamic amplification and adaptation before the centromeres in the same species become dominated by the best adapted satellite repeat.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

New Mechanism for Yield Point Phenomena

Yield point phenomena (YPP) are widely attributed to discrete dislocation locking by solute atmospheres. An alternate YPP mechanism was recently suggested by simulations of Ta single crystals without any influence of solutes or discrete dislocations. The general meso-scale (GM) simulations consist of crystal plasticity (CP) plus accounting for internal stresses of geometrically necessary dislocation content. GM predicted the YPP while CP did not, suggesting a novel internal stress mechanism. The predicted YPP varied with crystal orientation and boundary conditions, contrary to expectations for a solute mechanism. The internal stress mechanism was probed by experimentally deforming oligocrystal Ta samples and comparing the results with independent GM simulations. Strain distributions of the experiments were observed with high-resolution digital image correlation. A YPP stress–strain response occurred in the 0–2% strain range in agreement with GM predictions. Shear bands appeared concurrent with the YPP stress–strain perturbation in agreement with GM predictions. At higher strains, the shear bands grew at progressively slower rates in agreement with GM predictions. It was concluded that the internal stress mechanism can account for the existence of YPP in a wide variety of materials including ones where interstitial-dislocation interactions and dislocation transient avalanches are improbable. Furthermore, the internal stress mechanism is a CP analog of various micro-scale mechanisms of discrete dislocations such as pile-up or bow-out. It may operate concurrently with strain aging, or either mechanism may operate alone. A suggestion was made for a future experiment to answer this question.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2021

A Continuum Dislocation Dynamics Crystal Plasticity Approach to Irradiated Body-Centered Cubic α-Iron

Radiation-induced embrittlement of reactor pressure vessel (RPV) steels can potentially limit the operating life of nuclear power plants. Over extended exposure to radiation doses, these body-centered cubic (BCC) irons demonstrate irradiation damage. Here, we present a continuum dislocation density (CDD) crystal plasticity model to capture the interaction among dislocations and self-interstitial atom (SIA) loops in α-iron. We demonstrate the importance of modeling cross slip using a combined stochastic Monte Carlo approach and the role of slip system strength anisotropy in capturing stochastic cross slip interactions. Through these captured interactions, the CDD crystal plasticity model can capture both the stress response and the physical evolution of dislocations on different slip system planes. Single-crystal verification experiments are used to calibrate the CDD crystal plasticity model, and a set of simplified polycrystalline simulations demonstrates the model’s ability to capture the stress response from tensile experiments on α-iron.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2014

Novel strategy for low-temperature, high-rate growth of dense, hard, and stress-free refractory ceramic thin films

Growth of fully dense refractory thin films by means of physical vapor deposition (PVD) requires elevated temperatures T{sub s} to ensure sufficient adatom mobilities. Films grown with no external heating are underdense, as demonstrated by the open voids visible in cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy images and by x-ray reflectivity results; thus, the layers exhibit low nanoindentation hardness and elastic modulus values. Ion bombardment of the growing film surface is often used to enhance densification; however, the required ion energies typically extract a steep price in the form of residual rare-gas-ion-induced compressive stress. Here, the authors propose a PVD strategy for the growth of dense, hard, and stress-free refractory thin films at low temperatures; that is, with no external heating. The authors use TiN as a model ceramic materials system and employ hybrid high-power pulsed and dc magnetron co-sputtering (HIPIMS and DCMS) in Ar/N{sub 2} mixtures to grow dilute Ti{sub 1−x}Ta{sub x}N alloys on Si(001) substrates. The Ta target driven by HIPIMS serves as a pulsed source of energetic Ta{sup +}/Ta{sup 2+} metal–ions, characterized by in-situ mass and energy spectroscopy, while the Ti target operates in DCMS mode (Ta-HIPIMS/Ti-DCMS) providing a continuous flux of metal atoms to sustain a high deposition rate. Substrate bias V{sub s} is applied in synchronous with the Ta-ion portion of each HIPIMS pulse in order to provide film densification by heavy-ion irradiation (m{sub Ta} = 180.95 amu versus m{sub Ti} = 47.88 amu) while minimizing Ar{sup +} bombardment and subsequent trapping in interstitial sites. Since Ta is a film constituent, primarily residing on cation sublattice sites, film stress remains low. Dense Ti{sub 0.92}Ta{sub 0.08}N alloy films, 1.8 μm thick, grown with T{sub s} ≤ 120 °C (due to plasma heating) and synchronized bias, V{sub s} = 160 V, exhibit nanoindentation hardness H = 25.9 GPa and elastic modulus E = 497 GPa compared to 13.8 and 318 GPa for underdense Ti-HIPIMS/Ti-DCMS TiN reference layers (T{sub s} < 120 °C) grown with the same V{sub s}, and 7.8 and 248 GPa for DCMS TiN films grown with no applied bias (T{sub s} < 120 °C). Ti{sub 0.92}Ta{sub 0.08}N residual stress is low, σ = −0.7 GPa, and essentially equal to that of Ti-HIPIMS/Ti-DCMS TiN films grown with the same substrate bias.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2014

Effect of nitrogen upon structural and magnetic properties of FePt in FePt/AlN multilayer structures

This paper investigates the effect of the addition of nitrogen in FePt layers for ultrathin FePt/AlN multilayer structures. X-ray diffraction results reveal that a compressive stress relaxation occurs after annealing owing to the release of interstitial nitrogen atoms in the FePt layers. The introduction of nitrogen also induces a large in-plane compressive strain during grain growth not seen in FePt deposited without nitrogen. This strain is considered to decrease the driving force for (111) grain growth and FePt ordering.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2015

Low temperature atomic layer deposited ZnO photo thin film transistors

ZnO thin film transistors (TFTs) are fabricated on Si substrates using atomic layer deposition technique. The growth temperature of ZnO channel layers are selected as 80, 100, 120, 130, and 250 °C. Material characteristics of ZnO films are examined using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and x-ray diffraction methods. Stoichiometry analyses showed that the amount of both oxygen vacancies and interstitial zinc decrease with decreasing growth temperature. Electrical characteristics improve with decreasing growth temperature. Best results are obtained with ZnO channels deposited at 80 °C; I{sub on}/I{sub off} ratio is extracted as 7.8 × 10{sup 9} and subthreshold slope is extracted as 0.116 V/dec. Flexible ZnO TFT devices are also fabricated using films grown at 80 °C. I{sub D}–V{sub GS} characterization results showed that devices fabricated on different substrates (Si and polyethylene terephthalate) show similar electrical characteristics. Sub-bandgap photo sensing properties of ZnO based TFTs are investigated; it is shown that visible light absorption of ZnO based TFTs can be actively controlled by external gate bias.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2016

Defect formation during chlorine-based dry etching and their effects on the electronic and structural properties of InP/InAsP quantum wells

The general objective is the investigation of the defects formed by dry etching tools such as those involved in the fabrication of photonic devices with III–V semiconductors. Emphasis is put on plasma exposures with chlorine-based chemistries. In addition to identifying these defects and describing their effects on the electro-optic and structural properties, the long-term target would be to predict the impact on the parameters of importance for photonic devices, and possibly include these predictions in their design. The work is first centered on explaining the experimental methodology. This methodology starts with the design and growth of a quantum well structure on indium phosphide, including ternary indium arsenide/phosphide quantum wells with graded arsenic/phosphor composition. These samples have then been characterized by luminescence methods (photo- and cathodoluminescence), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, and secondary ion mass spectrometry. As one of the parameters of importance in this study, the authors have also included the doping level. The samples have been exposed to the etching plasmas for “short” durations that do not remove completely the quantum wells, but change their optical signature. No masking layer with lithographic features was involved as this work is purely oriented to study the interaction between the plasma and the samples. A significant difference in the luminescence spectra of the as-grown undoped and doped samples is observed. A mechanism describing the effect of the built-in electric field appearing as a consequence of the doping profile is proposed. This mechanism involves quantum confined Stark effect and electric-field induced carrier escape from the quantum wells. In the following part, the effects of exposure to various chlorine-based plasmas were explored. Differences are again observed between the undoped and doped samples, especially for chemistries containing silicon tetrachloride. Secondary ion mass spectrometry indicates penetration of chlorine in the structures. Transmission electron microscopy is used to characterize the quantum well structure before and after plasma bombardment. By examining carefully the luminescence spectral properties, the authors could demonstrate the influence of the etching plasmas on the built-in electric field (in the case of doped samples), and relate it to some ionic species penetrating the structures. Etching plasmas involving both chlorine and nitrogen have also been studied. The etching rate for these chemistries is much slower than for some of the silicon tetrachloride based chemistries. Their effects on the samples are also very different, showing much reduced effect on the built-in electric field (for the doped samples), but significant blue-shifts of the luminescence peaks that the authors attributed to the penetration of nitrogen in the structures. Nitrogen, in interstitial locations, induces mechanical compressive stress that accounts for the blue-shifts. Finally, from the comparison between secondary ion mass spectrometry and luminescence spectra, the authors suggest some elements for a general mechanism involved in the etching by chloride-chemistries, in which a competition takes place between the species at the surface, active for the etching mechanism, and the species that penetrate the structure, lost for the etching process, but relevant in terms of impact on the electro-optic and structural features of the exposed materials.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2019

High temperature deuterium enrichment using TiC coated vanadium membranes

Here, the current technology for hydrogen isotope separation requires enormous capital investment and energy consumption. Palladium-based membranes exhibit hydrogen isotope selectivity and provide a continuous method of isotope enrichment but have high material costs. Here, the authors investigate the potential of titanium carbide thin films coated on vanadium as a low-cost alternative, which enabled operation at high temperatures. Protium and deuterium exhibited nominally identical solubility in TiC coated vanadium over a range of 500–700°C. Permeation tests from 600 to 700°C revealed that protium permeated faster than deuterium, with the separation factor decreasing from 1.34 to 1.15 with increasing temperature. XPS depth-profiling showed a distinct interface between the TiC layer and the V foil in as-fabricated membranes. However, post-test analysis revealed significant V diffusion through TiC and segregation to the surface. Surface limitations resulting from this degradation accounted for changes in flux and may explain why the separation factor was lower than the value of 1.42 expected from high temperature interstitial diffusion of protium/deuterium in vanadium.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Analysis of furnace contamination on superconducting radio frequency niobium using secondary-ion mass spectrometry

Detection of surface contamination on niobium materials used in superconducting radio frequency (SRF) applications is difficult due to quantitative sensitivity and near-atomic depth resolution needed. Inspection of samples known to have experienced surface contamination was found to have inconsistent nitride coverage after high-temperature nitrogen gas exposure (“doping”). Here we compare contaminating species found on samples treated in several different vacuum furnaces, both “exposed” directly in the chamber and “protected” by containment shielding from evaporative sources with “furnace caps.” Typically, furnace caps are used to impede contamination from reaching the interior surface of cavities during the high-temperature vacuum bake that immediately precedes exposure to nitrogen gas. Although, to date, little is known about the effectiveness of these caps, SIMS results showed that they were effective in limiting contamination arising from the furnace environment. Inspection of sample surfaces by SEM showed a lack of nitrides present on contaminated specimens. TEM with energy dispersive spectroscopy performed on these samples revealed that a carbon-rich layer now existed, indicating that a relatively high contaminant load prevents the nucleation and growth of surface nitrides, while thus inhibiting interstitial nitrogen uptake. Except in extreme cases, subsequent removal of the top several micrometers of the surface via electropolishing appears to effectively eliminate any strong influence on the subsequent SRF cavity performance. With the absence of furnace cleaning, carbon contamination was found to be nearly 10× higher for protected nitrogen-doped and electropolished samples, with minimal metallic contamination detected for both processes. SIMS analysis was also performed to compare the cleanliness of samples fully prepared by such nitrogen “doping” with those prepared by a related process, involving the dissolution of niobium surface oxide and diffusion of oxygen into the surface. This oxygen doping or alloying process offers attractive advantages.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2025

Kinetic Monte Carlo simulations of aging in δ -Pu

We have developed a first-passage kinetic Monte Carlo approach for materials aging to investigate the sensitivity of void swelling to model parameters, including helium bubble density and size distribution. In addition to explicitly accounting for the spatial distribution of individual point defects, bubbles, and voids, our approach can simulate total doses equivalent to 100 years of natural aging on statistically representative volumes of materials. This technique enables us to study the effects on swelling and radiation damage evolution due to temperature and dose rate (as altered in artificially aged experiments), differences in effective interaction radii between vacancies and interstitials, and varying defect diffusion activation energies, while providing more detailed information than previous rate-equation based approaches. In conclusion, our results indicate that spatial effects that are not modeled in mean-field rate theories could play a significant role in void swelling initiation and growth for certain regimes of model parameters.

Actinides↗
DOE OSTI2013

Dynamic rotating-shield brachytherapy

Purpose: To present dynamic rotating shield brachytherapy (D-RSBT), a novel form of high-dose-rate brachytherapy (HDR-BT) with electronic brachytherapy source, where the radiation shield is capable of changing emission angles during the radiation delivery process.Methods: A D-RSBT system uses two layers of independently rotating tungsten alloy shields, each with a 180° azimuthal emission angle. The D-RSBT planning is separated into two stages: anchor plan optimization and optimal sequencing. In the anchor plan optimization, anchor plans are generated by maximizing the D{sub 90} for the high-risk clinical-tumor-volume (HR-CTV) assuming a fixed azimuthal emission angle of 11.25°. In the optimal sequencing, treatment plans that most closely approximate the anchor plans under the delivery-time constraint will be efficiently computed. Treatment plans for five cervical cancer patients were generated for D-RSBT, single-shield RSBT (S-RSBT), and {sup 192}Ir-based intracavitary brachytherapy with supplementary interstitial brachytherapy (IS + ICBT) assuming five treatment fractions. External beam radiotherapy doses of 45 Gy in 25 fractions of 1.8 Gy each were accounted for. The high-risk clinical target volume (HR-CTV) doses were escalated such that the D{sub 2cc} of the rectum, sigmoid colon, or bladder reached its tolerance equivalent dose in 2 Gy fractions (EQD2 with α/β= 3 Gy) of 75 Gy, 75 Gy, or 90 Gy, respectively.Results: For the patients considered, IS + ICBT had an average total dwell time of 5.7 minutes/fraction (min/fx) assuming a 10 Ci{sup 192}Ir source, and the average HR-CTV D{sub 90} was 78.9 Gy. In order to match the HR-CTV D{sub 90} of IS + ICBT, D-RSBT required an average of 10.1 min/fx more delivery time, and S-RSBT required 6.7 min/fx more. If an additional 20 min/fx of delivery time is allowed beyond that of the IS + ICBT case, D-RSBT and S-RSBT increased the HR-CTV D{sub 90} above IS + ICBT by an average of 16.3 Gy and 9.1 Gy, respectively.Conclusions: For cervical cancer patients, D-RSBT can boost HR-CTV D{sub 90} over IS + ICBT and S-RSBT without violating the tolerance doses to the bladder, rectum, or sigmoid. The D{sub 90} improvements from D-RSBT depend on the patient, the delivery time budget, and the applicator structure.

62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE↗
DOE OSTI2014

SU-E-J-222: Evaluation of Deformable Registration of PET/CT Images for Cervical Cancer Brachytherapy

Purpose: PET/CT provides important functional information for radiotherapy targeting of cervical cancer. However, repeated PET/CT procedures for external beam and subsequent brachytherapy expose patients to additional radiation and are not cost effective. Our goal is to investigate the possibility of propagating PET-active volumes for brachytherapy procedures through deformable image registration (DIR) of earlier PET/CT and ultimately to minimize the number of PET/CT image sessions required. Methods: Nine cervical cancer patients each received their brachytherapy preplanning PET/CT at the end of EBRT with a Syed template in place. The planning PET/CT was acquired on the day of brachytherapy treatment with the actual applicator (Syed or Tandem and Ring) and rigidly registered. The PET/CT images were then deformably registered creating a third (deformed) image set for target prediction. Regions of interest with standardized uptake values (SUV) greater than 65% of maximum SUV were contoured as target volumes in all three sets of PET images. The predictive value of the registered images was evaluated by comparing the preplanning and deformed PET volumes with the planning PET volume using Dice's coefficient (DC) and center-of-mass (COM) displacement. Results: The average DCs were 0.12±0.14 and 0.19±0.16 for rigid and deformable predicted target volumes, respectively. The average COM displacements were 1.9±0.9 cm and 1.7±0.7 cm for rigid and deformable registration, respectively. The DCs were improved by deformable registration, however, both were lower than published data for DIR in other modalities and clinical sites. Anatomical changes caused by different brachytherapy applicators could have posed a challenge to the DIR algorithm. The physiological change from interstitial needle placement may also contribute to lower DC. Conclusion: The clinical use of DIR in PET/CT for cervical cancer brachytherapy appears to be limited by applicator choice and requires further investigation.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2014

SU-E-J-263: Dosimetric Analysis On Breast Brachytherapy Based On Deformable Image Registration

Purpose: To quantitatively compare and evaluate the dosimetry difference between breast brachytherapy protocols with different fractionation using deformable image registration. Methods: The accumulative dose distribution for multiple breast brachytherapy patients using four different applicators: Contura, Mammosite, Savi, and interstitial catheters, under two treatment protocols: 340cGy by 10 fractions in 5 days and 825cGy by 3 fractions in 2days has been reconstructed using a two stage deformable image registration approach. For all patients, daily CT was acquired with the same slice thickness (2.5mm). In the first stage, the daily CT images were rigidly registered to the initial planning CT using the registration module in Eclipse (Varian) to align the applicators. In the second stage, the tissues surrounding the applicator in the rigidly registered daily CT image were non-rigidly registered to the initial CT using a combination of image force and the local constraint that enforce zero normal motion on the surface of the applicator, using a software developed in house. We calculated the dose distribution in the daily CTs and deformed them using the final registration to convert into the image domain of the initial planning CT. The accumulative dose distributions were evaluated by dosimetry parameters including D90, V150 and V200, as well as DVH. Results: Dose reconstruction results showed that the two day treatment has a significant dosimetry improvement over the five day protocols. An average daily drop of D90 at 1.3% of the prescription dose has been observed on multiple brachytherapy patients. There is no significant difference on V150 and V200 between those two protocols. Conclusion: Brachytherapy with higher fractional dose and less fractions has an improved performance on being conformal to the dose distribution in the initial plan. Elongated brachytherapy treatments need to consider the dose uncertainty caused by the temporal changes of the soft tissue.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2014

SU-E-T-560: Commissioning An HDR Freiburg Flap Applicator for Skin Lesion Treatment

Purpose: Flexible Freiburg flap used with high dose rate afterloaders is easy to cut into any size for any body site and to dwell with a precise source position, conforms to curved skin surface and then to the planned target. However, unlike intracavity or interstitial situations, incomplete scatter environment due to flap applicators exposed to air might lead to dose difference between the delivered and planned. This research is focused on the dose deviation of incomplete scatter versus full scatter. Methods: A 12x12 cm of Freiburg flap applicator was used for the validation. A Nucletron Oncentra Brachy Ver. 4.3 treatment planning system (TPS) was used for treatment planning. However, no heterogeneity correction incorporated into the brachytherap TPS needs to be considered. A Philips Brilliance CT Big Bore was employed for CT scan. Radiation was delivered using a Nucletron HDR remote afterloader system. A 10cm bolus was used to cover the flap for obtaining a full scatter. An OSL, ion chamber, and Gafchromic EBT2 film were used for commissioning the flap applicator. Results: The applicator calibration at 5mm depth was performed using an OSL dosimeter. Applicator source dwelling positions with 1D and 2D array exposed to and recorded by Gafchromic EBT2 film showed an agreement within 1mm. 1D array of Freiburg flap exhibited 4.2% cooler in dose with incomplete scatter than full scatter. 2D array showed 7.1% lower in dose for incomplete scatter than full scatter. The deviation was found more than 10% beyond 8cm in depth. Conclusion: Significant dose deviation caused by the incomplete scatter environment was found to be 7.1% at 1cm depth. This deviation was increased with increasing depth. The inaccuracy resulted from the incomplete scatter can be fixed by either placing a bolus on the top of the flap or making the plan at least 7% hotter.

07 ISOTOPE AND RADIATION SOURCES↗
DOE OSTI2014

WE-E-BRE-12: Tumor Microenvironment Dynamics Following Radiation

Purpose: This work aims to understand the radiation-induced interplay between tumor oxygenation and metabolic activity. These dynamics can potentially serve as biomarkers in assessing treatment response allowing for patient-specific adaptive radiotherapy. Methods: Using patient-derived xenografts of head and neck cancer we assessed tumor oxygenation via fiber-optic probe monitored hemoglobin saturation and Blood Oxygen Level Dependent (BOLD) MRI. Measurements were taken before and after a 10 Gy dose of radiation. Changes in metabolic activity were measured via Fluorescence Lifetime IMaging (FLIM) with the appropriate controls following a 10 Gy dose of radiation. FLIM can non-invasively monitor changes in fluorescence in response to the microenvironment including being able to detect free and bound states of the intrinsically fluorescent metabolite NADH (Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide). With this information FLIM can accurately quantify the metabolic state of cells that have been radiated. To model the observed changes, a two-compartment, source-sink simulation relating hemoglobin saturation and metabolic activity was performed using MATLAB. Results: Hemoglobin saturation as measured by interstitial probe and BOLD-MRI decreased by 30% within 15 minutes following radiation. FLIM demonstrated a decrease in the mean fluorescence lifetime of NADH by 100 ps following 10 Gy indicating a shift towards glycolytic pathways. Simulation of radiation-induced alterations in tumor oxygenation demonstrated that these changes can be the result of changes in either vasculature or metabolic activity. Conclusion: Radiation induces significant changes in hemoglobin saturation and metabolic activity. These alterations occur on time scales approximately the duration of common radiation treatments. Further understanding these dynamics has important implications with regard to improvement of therapy and biomarkers of treatment response.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗