Links between radiation track structure, radiochemical species, and cell survival

In this work, a time-dependent simulation is presented in which the positions of ionizations produced by various LET particles are calculated by track-structure simulation. Ionizations are assumed to induce DSB, with a given low probability. DBS are either repaired or undergo binary interaction in a time and distance-dependent manner, producing exchange-type chromosomal aberrations (ETCA). Each ETCA has a 50% chance of producing lethality. The authors basic approach, integrating track structure and mechanistic information, will be a stochastic one, in which the passage of radiation through individual cells is simulated, followed by the production and interaction of DSB, all on a cell by cell basis. For each cell, the time development of the DSB and ETCA will be followed, followed by a determination of the viability of each individual cell, based on the number of ETCA in that cell at an appropriate time. The use of a stochastic, cell-by-cell approach allows for a realistic treatment of the relation between cell survival and aberration formation