Effects of low-dose X-ray irradiation of eggshells on radical production

Abstract

We investigated effects of low-dose X-ray irradiation on eggshells radical production. Eggshells irradiated by low-dose X-ray produced stable radicals. The stable radicals at the central region of the spectrum are the carbonates and CO₂^•− signals. The electron spin resonance (ESR) signals increase with increasing absorbed dose. The estimated radical concentration (spin number) was approximately 3.6 × 10¹² (spins/g) at 10-Gy dose using various known concentrations of TEMPOL (4-hydroxy-2, 2, 6, 6-tretramethylpiperidin-1-oxyl) aqueous solutions. The stable radicals in irradiated eggshells were recognized at the low-level dose (0.10 Gy). In addition, no significant dose rate (0.5–1.5 Gy/min) dependence was found for the radical production.

Keywords::

• EPR
• X-ray
• egg shell
• low dose
• radical
• irradiation
• ESR

Declaration of interest

The author reports no declaration of interest. The author alone is responsible for the content and writing of the paper.

Part of this research was supported by Grant-in-Aid for Exploratory Research (24650247) and Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B) (25282124) from Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) (K.N.).