Carcinogenicity Screening of Chemicals Using Positron Annihilation Spectroscopy

Abstract

Chemical carcinogens are the main cause of cancer. Many thousands of new chemicals are synthesized annually in the world, unknown part of them is carcinogens. There are several methods, which are currently used for testing carcinogenicity. The fastest are physicochemical methods. We suggest the method of fast carcinogen screening using the positron annihilation spectroscopy (PAS). It is based on the fact that the presence of carcinogens, being strong electrophiles, significantly decreases positronium (Ps) formation probability. This quantity can be measured by means of conventional PAS techniques: positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PALS), angular correlation of annihilation radiation (ACAR) or Doppler broadening of annihilation radiation (DBAR).It is also possible to evaluate anti-carcinogenic properties of chemicals using the anti-inhibition effect of Ps formation.

Studies on healthy and neoplastic tissues using positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy and focused histopathological imaging

“…Change of measurement conditions (e.g. vacuum, gas atmosphere, humidity) 19 are also reflected in the PALS parameters. All that significantly affects the establishment of measurement conditions.…”

“…The analysis of the impact of humidity was carried out on simple organisms—yeast 18 . In literature 19 the theoretical considerations and modeling can be found. The results of above-cited papers are charged by various factors affecting the response of the PALS technique and do not allow to draw general conclusions.…”