Capability of NIPAM polymer gel in recording dose from the interaction of 10B and thermal neutron in BNCT

Abstract

The capability of N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM) polymer gel to record the dose resulting from boron neutron capture reaction in BNCT was determined. In this regard, three compositions of the gel with different concentrations of 10B were prepared and exposed to gamma radiation and thermal neutrons. Unlike irradiation with gamma rays, the boron-loaded gels irradiated by neutron exhibited sensitivity enhancement compared with the gels without 10B. It was also found that the neutron sensitivity of the gel increased by the increase of concentration of 10B. It can be concluded that NIPAM gel might be suitable for the measurement of the absorbed dose enhancement due to 10B and thermal neutron reaction in BNCT. é 2015 Elsevier Ltd.