Measuring small field profiles and output factors with a stemless plastic scintillator array.

Purpose: To fabricate a 1D stemless plastic scintillation detector (SPSD) array using organic photodiodes and to use the detector to measure small field profiles and output factors.

Methods: An organic photodiode array was fabricated by spin coating a mixture of P3HT and PCBM organic semiconductors onto an ITO-coated glass substrate and depositing aluminum top contacts. Four bulk scintillators of various dimensions were placed on top of the photodiode array.

Method for the differentiation of radiation-induced photocurrent from total measured current in P3HT/PCBM BHJ photodiodes.

Thin film radiation-detecting diodes fabricated in the laboratory, such as an organic bulk heterojunction, often contain conductive leads, indium tin oxide traces and metallic interconnects which are exposed to the high-energy photon beam during operation. These components generate extraneous radiation-induced currents, that, if not accounted for, will erroneously be attributed to the detector. In commercial devices, these contributions are mitigated by minimizing the size of these components, an approach that is often not feasible in a research lab.

Fabrication and characterization of a stemless plastic scintillation detector.

Purpose: To fabricate a stemless plastic scintillation detector (SPSD) and characterize its linearity and reproducibility, and its dependence on energy and dose per pulse; and to apply it to clinical PDD and output factor measurements.

Methods: An organic bulk heterojunction photodiode was fabricated by spin coating a blend of P3HT and PCBM onto an ITO-coated glass substrate and depositing aluminum top contacts. Eljen scintillators (~5 × 5 × 5 mm ; EJ-204, EJ-208, and EJ-260) or Saint-Gobain scintillators (~3 × 3 × 2 mm ; BC-400 and BC-412) were placed on the opposite side of the glass using a silicone grease (optical coupling agent) creating the SPSD.

Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor-Specific Nanoprobe Biodistribution in Mouse Models.

Nanotechnology offers a targeted approach to both imaging and treatment of cancer, the leading cause of death worldwide. Previous studies have found that nanoparticles with a wide variety of coatings initiate an immune response leading to sequestration in the liver and spleen. In an effort to find a nanoparticle platform which does not elicit an immune response, we created 43 nm and 44 nm of gold and silver nanoparticles coated with biomolecules normally produced by the body, α-lipoic acid and the epidermal growth factor (EGF), and have used mass spectroscopy to determine their biodistribution in mouse models, 24 h after tail vein injection.