New polymer gel dosimeters consisting of less toxic monomers with radiation-crosslinked gel matrix

Hiroki, Akihiro; Yamashita, Shinichi; Sato, Yuichi*; Nagasawa, Naotsugu; Taguchi, Mitsumasa

Polymer gel dosimeters consisting of less toxic methacrylate-type monomers such as 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) and polyethylene glycol 400 dimethacrylate (9G) with hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC) gel were prepared. We investigated the effect of monomer compositions on the dose response of the polymer gel dosimeter. The HPC gels as a matrix for the polymer gel dosimeter were obtained by electron beam irradiation to 20wt% of HPC aqueous solution. The dried HPC gels were immersed into mixed monomer solutions, and then the swollen gels were vacuum-packed to prepare the polymer gel dosimeters. The polymer gel dosimeters showed cloudiness by exposing to Co -ray, in which the cloudiness increased with the dose up to 10 Gy. At the same dose, the increase in the cloudiness appeared with increasing concentration of 9G. It was found that the dose response depended on the composition ratio between HEMA and 9G.