Uranium Compounds that Do Not Dissolve in the Stomach
Russian researchers from Moscow State University have discovered uranium compounds that do not dissolve in the stomach.
The data obtained will help to calculate the indoor dose and more effectively control the level of contamination of areas with high radioactivity.
Russian scientists from Moscow State University have traced how uranium compounds change in the human body. And some managed to keep a solid shape in the stomach.
The press service of the university said that the results of the study will allow more accurate calculation of the radiation dose for humans and animals. The results of the study were published in Scientific Reports.
The studied fine particles consist of uranium oxides and have different degrees of oxidation. The authors of the study traced how its structure changes when it enters human organs, which is an important indicator that affects the activity and stability of the compounds. The researchers used model fluids that mimic components of the human gastrointestinal tract and lung fluids.
The press service of the university quotes Tatyana Polyakova, researcher at the Department of Radiochemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, Moscow State University: “The behavior of some compounds appeared unexpectedly. For example, highly soluble uranium oxide UO3 remained solid in the gastric environment, and the survival of oxides UO2.05 and oxide U3O8 for a certain period leads to the formation of a more organized structure in the crystal lattices.
The scientists also tracked shifts in the structure of U4O9 oxide in the lung environment, where it converted to a more stable version. To conduct the analysis, the scientists used a state-of-the-art selective method in X-ray absorption and spectrum processing technology to study changes within the crystal lattice.
The researcher said: “The data obtained will help calculate the dose of internal exposure and more effectively control the level of contamination of areas with high radioactivity. The research participants plan to study the transformation of oxides in real bodies and environments, for example, in bovine serum, which will provide a complete picture of the effects of radionuclides on living organisms.”
Source: TASS
