Identification and dosimetric features of γ-irradiated cefadroxil by electron spin resonance

In the present work, electron spin resonance (ESR) identification of γ-irradiated cefadroxil monohydrate (CM), duricef capsule (DC) and duricef suspension (DS) and their potential use as normal and/or accidental dosimetric materials were investigated in the dose range of 1-25 kGy. Although unirradiated samples did not exhibit any ESR signals, irradiated samples were observed to present ESR spectra with many resonance lines originating from radiation induced radical or radicals. Dose-response curves associated with the resonance peak heights of CM (I1, I2) and DS (I3, I4, I5, I6) were found to follow linear and power functions of applied radiation dose, respectively. Simulation calculations were performed to determine the structure and spectral parameters of the radiation-induced radicalic species involved in the formation of experimental ESR spectrum of CM using, as input, the room temperature signal intensity data obtained for a sample irradiated at dose of 10 kGy. Kinetic behaviors and activation energies of the radicalic species were also calculated using the data obtained from annealing studies performed at five different temperatures. The presence of detectable signal intensities even after a storage period of 100 days was considered as providing an opportunity in the discrimination of irradiated CM and DS from unirradiated ones. Basing on room temperature signal intensity decay and dose-response data, it was concluded that CM and DS present the features of a good dosimetric material.