Paramagnetic lanthanide ions have been investigated as possible MIR phantom materials and contrast agents. The aim of this study is to determine if it is possible to apply the well known Solomon-Bloembergen equations to solutions of paramagnetic lanthanide ions that have fast electron spin relaxation times, compared to Gadolinium, the most widely used ion for NMR. Studies of the relaxivity, frequency and temperature dependence, show that there is a considerable difference in those properties over the series. Chelation of the ions to EDTA and DTPA resulted in a decrease in the relaxivity which was directly proportional to the decrease in the number of water molecules in the inner co-ordination sphere. The fit of the Solomon-Bloembergen equations to the variable frequency and temperature relaxation times showed that theory is valid for the fast electron spin ions and allowed the calculation of the electron spin relaxation times. This showed that there is a difference of 5 orders of magnitude between Gadolinium, the ion demonstrated to have a slow electron spin relaxation time, and the remaining ions. The addition of EDTA chelated forms of these ions to agarose gels produced NMR phantom materials with relaxation time characteristics that could be chosen to fulfil a desired application. The biodistribution of Gd-DTPA was investigated using ESR and NMR. The concentration of Gd-DTPA in excised rat tissue, 20 minutes after intraperitoneal injection, was determined, by the change in NMR water proton relaxation time from that of a control tissue, and by ESR from direct measurement of the microwave power absorbed by the sample, which is directly proportional to the number of unpaired electron spins in the sample. The results from these two methods of determining contrast agent concentration agree well with each other both in the order of biodistribution and on the absolute concentrations.

The radiation dose in radiation therapy is mainly measured by ion chamber. The ion chamber measurement will not be accurate if there is not enough phantom material surrounding the ion chamber to provide the electron equilibrium condition. The lack of electron equilibrium will cause a reduction of dose. This may introduce problems in treatment planning. Because some planning algorithms cannot predict the reduction, they over estimate the dose in the region. Electron disequilibrium will happen when the radiation field size is too small or the density of irradiated material is too low to provide sufficient electrons going into the dose volume. The amount of tissue required to provide electron equilibrium in a 6MV photon beam by three methods: direct calculation from Klein-Nisina equation, measurement in low density material phantom and a Monte Carlo simulation is done to compare with the measurement, an indirect method from a planning algorithm which does not provide an accurate result under lateral electron disequilibrium. When the error starts to happen in such planning algorithm, we know that the electron equilibrium conditions does not exist. Only the 6MV photon beam is investigated. This is because in most cases, a 6MV small fields are used for head and neck (larynx cavity) and 6MV fields are commonly used for lung to minimise uncertainity due to lateral electron at higher energies. / Master of Science (Hons)