Novel materials for radiation sensing in radiotherapy treatments: Development of luminescent YVO4:Eu3+ polymer-based nanocomposites

LUCIANA MENTASTI; NAHUEL MARTÍNEZ; ILEANA A. ZUCCHI; JULIÁN MARCAZZÓ; GUILLERMO ORELLANA; MARTÍN SANTIAGO; GASTÓN BARRETO

OPTICAL MATERIALS

ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV

Año: 2024

0925-3467

This scientific work explores the development of luminescent nanocomposite materials for radiation sensors in Fiber Optic Dosimetry (FOD). The study emphasizesthe use of YVO4:Eu3+ as a scintillator material due to its high luminescent efficiency. However, the challenge arises from its higher effective atomic number comparedto soft tissue. To address this issue, the work explores the dispersion of YVO4:Eu3+ as nanoparticles (NPs) in a biocompatible polymeric matrix, specifically consideringpoly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and poly(ethylene glycol) dimethacrylate (PEGDMA). Both PMMA/YVO4:Eu3+@TMSPM and PEGDMA/YVO4:Eu3+@TMSPMformulations were synthesized with minimal impact on the glass transition temperatures of the polymers. Under UV and beta particle excitation, these formulationsexhibit emission spectra characteristic of Eu3+ f-f transitions. The decay times of the main emission peak at 620 nm were 615 μs, 584 μs, and 567 μs for the NPs,PEGDMA- and PMMA-based polymeric nanocomposites (PNCs), respectively. These decay times fall within the range suitable for scintillators in LINAC pulsed radiationfacilities. Also, PEGDMA- and PMMA-based PNCs with varying contents of YVO4:Eu3+ NPs showed radioluminescence spectra under beta particle irradiation.This work demonstrates the feasibility of developing PEGDMA- and PMMA-based PNCs containing dispersed YVO4:Eu3+ NPs for their application as scintillators inradiotherapy dosimetry.