A novel experimental approach to investigate radiolysis processes in liquid samples using collimated radiation sources

Abstract

Here is detailed a novel and low-cost experimental method for high-throughput automated fluid sample irradiation. The sample is delivered via syringe pump to a nozzle, where it is expressed in the form of a hanging droplet into the path of a beam of ionising radiation. The dose delivery is controlled by an upstream lead shutter, which allows the beam to reach the droplet for a user defined period of time. The droplet is then further expressed after irradiation until it falls into one well of a standard microplate. The entire system is automated and can be operated remotely using software designed in-house, allowing for use in environments deemed unsafe for the user (synchrotron beamlines, for example). Depending on the number of wells in the microplate, several droplets can be irradiated before any human interaction is necessary, and the user may choose up to 10 samples per microplate using an array of identical syringe pumps, the design of which is described here. The nozzles consistently produce droplets of 25.1 ± 0.5 μl.

Resurgence of a Nation’s Radiation Science Driven by Its Nuclear Industry Needs

“…Reported errors are from fitting alone as the sample was only irradiated once at some energies so each measurement is reported separately. These yield results are consistent with previous studies into the Fricke A liquid sample can be placed into the sample holder manually or under computer control, e.g., using the computer-controlled syringe pumps developed previously [59], when it will sit in the bottom of the sample holder. The sample holder can then be spun, again under computer control, by actuating the motor.…”

“…Indeed, the idea for this sample holder came when aerating a glass of wine. A liquid sample can be placed into the sample holder manually or under computer control, e.g., using the computer-controlled syringe pumps developed previously [59], when it will sit in the bottom of the sample holder. The sample holder can then be spun, again under computer control, by actuating the motor.…”

Observation of dose-rate dependence in a Fricke dosimeter irradiated at low dose rates with monoenergetic X-rays

“…For the radiation chemistry research platform of Polin et al . 19 , an add-on was developed to enable the measurement of radiolytic yields in geometrically thin liquid samples. This add-on needs only two syringe pumps and a means to translate the sample catcher, so it could easily be implemented as a standalone system.…”

“…In both cases the absorption of X-rays in the air was taken into account as is described below. The shutter and an x-y translator were used to move different sample-catching wells under the ejection nozzle by a PC situated outside of the experimental hutch 19 . The shutter was controlled with electronic pulses that signaled when it should be open or closed.…”

“…In this paper we used the radiation chemistry research platform of Polin et al . 19 , and an add-on developed to enable a new, accurate method for the measurement of radiolytic yields in thin liquid samples. Essentially, photons from a synchrotron x-ray source pass through a thin-walled sample chamber that holds a known volume of sample with the attenuated beam being detected by a calibrated photodiode downstream of the sample chamber.…”