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Monte Carlo-Based Modeling of Secondary Particle Tracks Generated by Intermediate- and Low-Energy Protons in Water

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Nanoscale Insights into Ion-Beam Cancer Therapy

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Abstract

This chapter gives an overview of recent developments in the Monte Carlo-based modeling of the interaction of ionizing radiation with biologically relevant systems. Several track structure codes, such as Geant4 (GEometry ANd Tracking 4), Geant4-DNA, and LEPTS (Low-Energy Particle Track Simulation), are described. Main features, areas of application and current limitations of each tool are discussed. A special attention is focused on the energy range covered by primary and secondary charged particles and on the type of interactions included in the simulation. A recent development of LEPTS is presented, aimed at the simulation of full slowing-down of protons in water together with all molecular processes involving secondary particles. The utilized approach allows one to study radiation effects on the nanoscale in terms of the number and the type of induced molecular processes. Development of new tools for the simulation of biologically relevant materials opens the way for a more realistic, physically meaningful description of radiation damage in living tissue.

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledge the financial support received from the European Union Seventh Framework Programme (PEOPLE-2013-ITN-ARGENT project) under grant agreement no. 608163 and from the Spanish Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad (Project no. FIS2012-31230).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto de Física Fundamental, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Serrano 113-bis, 28006, Madrid, Spain

    Alexey Verkhovtsev & Gustavo García

  2. MBN Research Center, 60438, Frankfurt am Main, Germany

    Alexey Verkhovtsev

  3. Medical Applications Unit, Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas (CIEMAT), Av. Complutense 40, 28040, Madrid, Spain

    Pedro Arce

  4. Scientific Computing Unit, Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas (CIEMAT), Av. Complutense 40, 28040, Madrid, Spain

    Antonio Muñoz

  5. Departamento de Física Atómica, Molecular y Nuclear, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Plaza de Ciencias 1, 28040, Madrid, Spain

    Francisco Blanco

  6. Centre for Medical Radiation Physics, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, 2522, Australia

    Gustavo García

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  1. Alexey Verkhovtsev
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  2. Pedro Arce
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  3. Antonio Muñoz
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  5. Gustavo García
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Correspondence to Alexey Verkhovtsev .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Frankfurter Innovationszentrum Biotechnologie, MBN Research Center , Frankfurt, Germany

    Andrey V. Solov’yov

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Verkhovtsev, A., Arce, P., Muñoz, A., Blanco, F., García, G. (2017). Monte Carlo-Based Modeling of Secondary Particle Tracks Generated by Intermediate- and Low-Energy Protons in Water. In: Solov’yov, A. (eds) Nanoscale Insights into Ion-Beam Cancer Therapy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-43030-0_3

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