Abstract
SIGNIFICANCE: A significant amount of radical related luminescence is observed from the titanium dioxide (TiO2) plate during irradiation of alpha particles although alpha particles do not emit Cerenkov-light. AIM: TiO2 is a promising material for application to photodynamic therapy in combination with positron radionuclides that emit Cerenkov light. However, it is not clear that radicals are produced by the irradiation of alpha particles, since although Cerenkov light is required to produce radicals, alpha particles do not produce Cerenkov light. APPROACH: To clarify this point, the author irradiates alpha particles to a TiO2 plate and measured the produced luminescence of the plate, which indicates the radical production in TiO2. RESULTS: A significant amount of luminescence was observed from the TiO2 plate during irradiation of alpha particles. The spectrum of luminescence from the TiO2 plate during this irradiation was the same as that emitted by ultraviolet (UV) light irradiated luminescence, which actually showed radical production in a TiO2 plate. This luminescence was not attributed to the UV light from the air scintillation by alpha particles but to the direct irradiation of alpha particles to the TiO2 plate. CONCLUSIONS: A significant amount of luminescence from TiO2 plate was detected during irradiation of alpha particles. The luminescence is thought to be emitted from the radicals produced by the direct alpha particle irradiation to the TiO2 plate.