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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Public Health
Sec. Radiation and Health
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1531253

The effects of age and other individual factors on radiation induced ESR signals from fingernails

Provisionally accepted
Samayeh Azariasl Samayeh Azariasl 1,2Hiroshi Yasuda Hiroshi Yasuda 1,2*
  • 1 Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Hiroshima, Japan
  • 2 Research Institute for Radiation Biology and Medicine, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Biodosimetry is crucial for assessing ionizing radiation exposure to guide medical responses.Electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy using fingernails can be effectively used for both occupational and public dose assessments in radiological accidents because of their accessibility and ability to retain stable radiation-induced free radicals. However, despite two decades of research, challenges remain in achieving accurate fingernail dosimetry, mainly owing to the variation in ESR signals among individuals. The purpose of this study was to explore interindividual differences in ESR signals in fingernails to improve the accuracy and reliability of extremity dosimetry. Fingernail samples were collected from 15 participants (age: 11-64 years), irradiated with diagnostic X-rays (160 kV, 6.3 mA) at 0, 5, 10, and 20 Gy, and measured using ESR spectroscopy. The effects of individual factors, such as age, sex, health condition, and lifestyle, on radiation-induced ESR signals (RIS) were investigated. Younger participants exhibited stronger RIS intensities and a more linear dose-response relationship. The RISintensity in female samples tended to be higher than that in male samples. Interestingly, the fingernals of middle-aged donors who regularly took vitamin supplements showed significantly higher ESR signal intensities than those of similar-age donors who did not take supplements.Notable reductions in RIS intensity during storage in a freezer were observed only in older donor samples irradiated at higher doses. These findings underscores the importance of considering age and other individual factors in the calibration for fingernail dosimetry.

    Keywords: ESR spectroscopy, Fingernail, Retrospective dosimetry, Radiological emergency response, inter-individual variation

    Received: 22 Nov 2024; Accepted: 06 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Azariasl and Yasuda. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Hiroshi Yasuda, Research Institute for Radiation Biology and Medicine, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan

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