<p>Aluminum is present throughout the
environment and in many industrial processes and consumer goods. While very useful in everyday lives, it has
no inherent biological functions in humans.
High quantities in the human body can be toxic, resulting a range of
skeletal, neurological, and hematopoietic effects. A system has been developed to analyze
aluminum using the neutron activation analysis (NAA) technique in vivo. NAA was performed with a transportable
neutron generator as a neutron source and a high purity germanium (HPGe)
detector for spectroscopy. The neutron
generator and HPGe detector were completely modelled in MCNP6. Measurements were carried out to evaluate the
accuracy of the MCNP6 simulations and to determine the detection capabilities
of the system for aluminum. Simulations
were also conducted to determine the acceptability of radiation dose to
subjects undergoing analysis. The
detection limit for the system was evaluated using skeletal bone as a long-term
aluminum biomarker. The detection limit
was determined to be 3.41 x 10<sup>1</sup> μg of Al per g of dry bone for an irradiation time of
six minutes. This detection level is below
a point at which physiological effects have been observed in humans. A lower detection level was demonstrated to
be possible with a longer irradiation time.
The radiation absorbed dose was determined to be 7.30 mGy for an irradiation
of six minutes. The system can therefore
be utilized as a potential screening and monitoring tool for high skeletal
burdens of aluminum that may lead to physiological effects.</p>
<p>The simulation and calculation
techniques developed herein were applied to a set of human subject data that
were acquired for a purpose other than evaluating aluminum. The human subject data included both bone Al
from NAA and fingernail Al from mass spectrometry measurements. No significant aluminum signals were observed
when assessing the in vivo NAA spectra data.
Through simulation and calculation, it was demonstrated that the NAA experimental
parameters resulted in an elevated detection limit for aluminum that is above
Al skeletal loads observed in healthy individuals. The elevated detection limit prevented the in
vivo detection of aluminum in a healthy population, thus confirming the NAA results.
</p>
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:purdue.edu/oai:figshare.com:article/15082803 |
| Date | 02 August 2021 |
| Creators | Patrick Joseph Byrne (9932691) |
| Source Sets | Purdue University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, Thesis |
| Rights | CC BY 4.0 |
| Relation | https://figshare.com/articles/thesis/Simulation_and_Development_of_a_Transportable_Neutron_Activation_Analysis_System_for_the_Assessment_of_Aluminum_In_Vivo/15082803 |
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