Monte Carlo Simulations Reveal New Design Principles for Efficient Nanoradiosensitizers Based on Nanoscale Metal-Organic Frameworks

Nanoscale metal-organic frameworks (nMOFs) have recently been shown to provide better radiosensitization than solid nanoparticles when excited with X-rays. Here we report the first Monte Carlo simulation of different radiosensitization effects by nanoparticles and nMOFs using a lattice model consisting of 3D arrays of nanoscale secondary building units (SBUs). The simulation results reveal that lattices outperform solid nanoparticles regardless of radiation sources or particle sizes via enhanced scatterings of photons and electrons within the lattices. Optimum dose enhancement can be achieved by tuning SBU size and inter-SBU distance.