Investigation of heavy-ion-induced sucrose radicals by electron paramagnetic resonance.

The production of sucrose radicals with heavy-ion irradiation was investigated by an EPR (electron paramagnetic resonance) spectroscopic method. We examined the correlation between the production of sucrose radicals and the ion species, as well as LET (linear energy transfer). The spectral pattern obtained was the same for various ion species, including helium, carbon, neon, argon and iron ions. Quantitative EPR analyses showed that the production of sucrose radicals depended on both the ion species and the LET for the same dose of 50 Gy. The spin yield obtained showed a logarithmic correlation with the LET. In addition, the EPR response had a linear relationship with dose in the dose range of 5-60 Gy. Thus the present EPR results show that sucrose can be used to monitor the ionizing particle based on the radical yield.