Variations in Gold Nanoparticle Size on DNA Damage: A Monte Carlo Study Based on a Multiple-Particle Model Using Electron Beams

Research is currently focused on maximizing cancer cell death while minimizing harm to healthy cells. Gold nanoparticles (GNPs) have been extensively studied as a radiosensitizer to improve cancer cell death while sparing normal tissue. Previous research and simulations have demonstrated that the presence of a single GNP increases DNA damage and dose. In this study, a Monte Carlo simulation using the Geant4-DNA code was used to investigate the effects of multiple GNPs on DNA damage when exposed to electron beams with energies of 50, 100, 150, and 200 keV. The study examined DNA damage caused by 1–4 GNPs of the same total volume by analyzing both single- and double-strand breaks. The results indicate that increasing the number of GNPs and decreasing the electron beam energy increases the total number of strand breaks. Although DNA damage increased, the proportion of double-strand breaks remained unchanged in relation to the total number of strand breaks.