Abstract Metallic nanoparticle radiosensitization (MNPR) is attracting a good deal of attention, promising enhanced efficiency target volume radiation therapy without escalation of damage to surrounding normal tissues, also devoid of modification to the irradiation setup. To study the process of DNA damage in MNPR, physical dose in the sub-cellular scale should be known. This, together with the lack of accurate measurement methods, has demanded micro and nanodosimetric calculations. Accordingly, Monte Carlo (MC) simulations have been supportive with evaluation of physical effects in the radioenhancement process, which together with experimental findings resulted in improved understanding of the underlying chemical and biological processes. This review discusses current progress in nanoparticle (NP) radiosensitization, summarizing findings from both experiment and MC simulation in respect of the various parameters that affect the efficiency of radioenhancement in photon and charged particle therapies. We describe the role of MC transport calculations in progress of NP radioenhancement and discuss the main perceptions achieved in use of MC simulations along with biological survival studies. Current challenges of MC simulations for the use in this field and future potentials are also discussed.

中文翻译：

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金属纳米粒子放射增敏：蒙特卡罗模拟对进展的作用

摘要 金属纳米粒子放射增敏 (MNPR) 引起了广泛关注，有望提高靶区体积放射治疗的效率，同时不会增加对周围正常组织的损伤，也无需对照射设置进行修改。要研究 MNPR 中 DNA 损伤的过程，应该知道亚细胞尺度的物理剂量。再加上缺乏准确的测量方法，需要进行微米和纳米剂量计算。因此，蒙特卡罗 (MC) 模拟一直支持对辐射增强过程中的物理效应的评估，这与实验结果一起提高了对潜在化学和生物过程的理解。本综述讨论了纳米颗粒 (NP) 放射增敏的当前进展，总结了关于影响光子和带电粒子治疗中放射增强效率的各种参数的实验和 MC 模拟结果。我们描述了 MC 传输计算在 NP 辐射增强过程中的作用，并讨论了在使用 MC 模拟以及生物生存研究中获得的主要看法。还讨论了用于该领域的 MC 模拟的当前挑战和未来的潜力。