Study of the effect of laponite on Fricke xylenol orange gel dosimeter by optical techniques

Optical absorbance and dynamic light scattering studies of Fricke xylenol orange gel dosimeters loaded with laponite were carried out with the aim to investigate possible effects of nanoparticles on the dosimetric properties and diffusion phenomena of ferric ions. A procedure for incorporating laponite nano-sized clay particles into the gel dosimeters, prepared using porcine gelatine as gelling agent, was successfully developed. The shape of the optical absorbance spectra of the gel dosimeters in the wavelength interval 350–750 nm have shown a slight dependence on the nanoparticles concentration and varied with the absorbed dose. All studied gel exhibited a linear dose response in the investigated interval 0–22 Gy. Neither the sensitivity to the radiation dose nor the diffusion coefficient were significantly altered by the addition of laponite into the Fricke xylenol orange gel formulation employed.