Mass attenuation coefficient, stopping power, and penetrating distance calculations via Monte Carlo simulations for cell membranes

Abstract

The Monte Carlo (MC) method is a computer simulation that is widely used in different disciplines including physics, biology, biophysics, medical imaging, biomedical engineering, etc. In addition, MC method is often used to simulate the interaction of radiation with cells, tissues, and the environment. In the present study, mass attenuation coefficient, stopping power, and penetrating distance calculations were performed for cell membranes having an approximately 60-100Å thickness. These calculations have been done for lipid bilayer structure of cell membrane via MC techniques employing two of the most known computer-aided calculation and simulation software which are MC methods such as SRIM-2013 (The Stopping and Range of Ions in Matter) and MCNPv6 (Monte Carlo N-Particle) with XCOM software. Stopping power and penetrating distance calculations were obtained using SRIM-2013. Also, both XCOM software and MCNPv6 simulation code were used to obtain photon interaction parameters within the energy range of 0.01 – 10000keV. Obtained all results from different codes have been visualized by graphing for evaluation.