Fe nanoflakes were prepared by the ball-milling technique, and then were coated with 20 nm-thick SiO(2) to prepare Fe/SiO(2) core-shell nanoflakes. Compared with the uncoated Fe nanoflakes, the permittivity of Fe/SiO(2) nanoflakes decreases dramatically, while the permeability decreases slightly. Consequently, reflection losses exceeding - 20 dB of Fe/SiO(2) nanoflakes are obtained in the frequency range of 3.8-7.3 GHz for absorber thicknesses of 2.2-3.6 mm, while the reflection loss of uncoated Fe nanoflakes almost cannot reach - 10 dB in the same thickness range. The enhanced microwave absorption of Fe/SiO(2) nanoflakes can be attributed to the combination of the proper electromagnetic impedance match due to the decrease of permittivity and large magnetic loss due to strong and broadband natural resonance. The key to the combination is the coexistence of the nanoshell microstructure and the nanoflake morphology.

This study aimed to evaluate whether high-energy X-rays (HEXs) of the PARTER (platform for advanced radiotherapy research) platform built on CTFEL (Chengdu THz Free Electron Laser facility) can produce ultrahigh dose rate (FLASH) X-rays and trigger the FLASH effect. Materials and methods: EBT3 radiochromic film and fast current transformer (FCT) devices were used to measure absolute dose and pulsed beam current of HEXs. Subcutaneous tumor-bearing mice and healthy mice were treated with sham, FLASH, and conventional dose rate radiotherapy (CONV), respectively to observe the tumor control efficiency and normal tissue damage. Results: The maximum dose rate of HEXs of PARTER was up to over 1000 Gy/s. Tumor-bearing mice experiment showed a good result on tumor control (p < 0.0001) and significant difference in survival curves (p < 0.005) among the three groups. In the thorax-irradiated healthy mice experiment, there was a significant difference (p = 0.038) in survival among the three groups, with the risk of death decreased by 81% in the FLASH group compared to that in the CONV group. The survival time of healthy mice irradiated in the abdomen in the FLASH group was undoubtedly higher (62.5% of mice were still alive when we stopped observation) than that in the CONV group (7 days). Conclusion: This study confirmed that HEXs of the PARTER system can produce ultrahigh dose rate X-rays and trigger a FLASH effect, which provides a basis for future scientific research and clinical application of HEX in FLASH radiotherapy.

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The ultrahigh dose-rate (FLASH) radiotherapy, which is efficient in tumor control while sparing healthy tissue, has attracted intensive attention due to its revolutionary application prospect. This so-called FLASH effect has been reported in preclinical experiments with electrons, kilo-voltage X-rays, and protons, thus making FLASH a promising revolutionary radiotherapy modality. High energy X-ray (HEX) should be the ideal radiation type for clinical applications of FLASH due to its advantages in deep penetration, small divergence, and cost-friendly. In this work, we report the first implementation of HEXs with ultrahigh dose-rate (HEX-FLASH) and corresponding application of in vivo study of the FLASH effect produced by a high-current (10 mA), high-energy (6-8 MeV) superconducting linac. Joint measurements using radiochromic film, scintillator and Fast Current Transformer device validated that a maximum dose rate of over 1000 Gy/s was achieved in the mice and the mean value within several square centimeters keeps higher than 50 Gy/s within a depth of over 15 cm. The performance of the present HEX can satisfy the requirement of the FLASH study on animals. Breast cancer (EMT6) inoculated into BAL b/c mice was found efficiently controlled by HEX-FLASH. The radio-protective effect of normal tissue was observed on the C57BL/6 mice after thorax/abdomen irradiation by HEX-FLASH. Theoretical analyses of cellular response following HEX-FLASH irradiation based on the radiolytic oxygen depletion hypothesis were performed to interpret experimental results and future experiment design. This work provided the first demonstration of the FLASH effect triggered by HEX, which paved the way for future preclinical research and clinical application of HEX-FLASH.