Single α-particle irradiation permits real-time visualization of RNF8 accumulation at DNA damaged sites

Giovanna Muggiolu (1) , Michal Pomorski (2) , Gérard Claverie (1) , Guillaume Berthet (2) , Christine Mer-Calfati (2) , Samuel Saada (2) , Guillaume Devès (1) , Marina Simon (1) , Hervé Seznec (1) , Philippe Barberet (1)

1 CENBG - Centre d'Etudes Nucléaires de Bordeaux Gradignan
2 LCD (CEA, LIST) - Laboratoire Capteurs Diamant (CEA, LIST)

As well as being a significant source of environmental radiation exposure, α-particles are increasingly considered for use in targeted radiation therapy. A better understanding of α-particle induced damage at the DNA scale can be achieved by following their tracks in real-time in targeted living cells. Focused α-particle microbeams can facilitate this but, due to their low energy (up to a few MeV) and limited range, α-particles detection, delivery, and follow-up observations of radiation-induced damage remain difficult. In this study, we developed a thin Boron-doped Nano-Crystalline Diamond membrane that allows reliable single α-particles detection and single cell irradiation with negligible beam scattering. The radiation-induced responses of single 3 MeV α-particles delivered with focused microbeam are visualized in situ over thirty minutes after irradiation by the accumulation of the GFP-tagged RNF8 protein at DNA damaged sites.

Mots clés: instrumentation; nuclear instrumentation; ionizing radiation; radioactivity; alpha-rays; radiotherapy; alpha particles; radiation-induced damage; diamond; boron doping; nano-crystalline diamond

Domaines: Instrumentations et Détecteurs [physics.ins-det]; Physique Médicale [physics.med-ph]

Giovanna Muggiolu, Michal Pomorski, Gérard Claverie, Guillaume Berthet, Christine Mer-Calfati, et al.. Single α-particle irradiation permits real-time visualization of RNF8 accumulation at DNA damaged sites. Scientific Reports, 2017, 7 (1), pp.41764. ⟨10.1038/srep41764⟩. ⟨hal-04146052⟩