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Due to the variability of neutron spectrum within the same environment, it is essential that the spectral distribution as a function of energy should be characterized. The precise information allows radiological quantities establishment related to that spectrum, but it is necessary that a spectrometric system covers a large interval of energy and an unfolding process is appropriate. This paper proposes use of a technique of Artificial Intelligence (AI) called genetic algorithm (GA), which uses bio-inspired mathematical models with the implementation of a specific matrix to unfolding data obtained from a combination of TLDs embedded in a BS system to characterize the neutron spectrum as a function of energy. The results obtained with this method were in accordance with reference spectra, thus enabling this technique to unfold neutron spectra with the BS-TLD system.

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In the present work, we utilized the BSS system with TLD-600 and TLD-700 to measure the neutron spectra around the GE-PETtrace 8 cyclotron of the Development Centre of Nuclear Technology (CDTN/CNEN) in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. The cyclotron is capable of accelerating protons up to 16.5 MeV, to production of fluorine-18. Four points inside the bunker of the cyclotron were studied. Two points in front of the primary radiation beam and other two opposed to the primary radiation beam. The measurements were unfolded with the BUMS and the NSDUAZ computer codes. The dosimetric quantities obtained were in agreement with the other published data and were coherent with the expected from theoretical estimates obtained from source term informed by the manufacturer of the cyclotron.

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Gene therapy and DNA vaccination applications have increased the demand for highly purified plasmid DNA (pDNA) in the last years. One of the main problems related to the scale-up of pDNA purification is the degradation of the supercoiled (sc) isoforms during cell culture and multi-stage purification. In this work, a systematic study of the stability of two model plasmids (3,697 and 6,050 bp) during a mid-scale production process, which includes fermentation, alkaline lysis, isopropanol and ammonium sulphate precipitation and hydrophobic interaction chromatography, was performed. Results indicate that by extending cell culture (up to 26 h) and cell lysis (up to 2 h) it is possible to significantly reduce the amounts of RNA, without significantly compromising the yields of the sc pDNA isoform, a feature that could be conveniently exploited for downstream processing purposes. The stability of pDNA upon storage of E. coli pellets at different temperatures indicates that, differently from RNA, pDNA is remarkably stable when stored in cell pellets (>3 weeks at 4 degrees C, >12 weeks at -20 degrees C) prior to processing. With alkaline lysates, however, storage at -20 degrees C is mandatory to avoid sc pDNA degradation within the first 8 weeks. Furthermore, the subsequent purification steps could be carried out at room temperature without significant pDNA degradation. Since the unit operations and process conditions studied in this work are similar to those generally used for plasmid DNA production, the results presented here may contribute to improve the current knowledge on plasmid stability and process optimization.

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Large-scale processes used to manufacture grams of plasmid DNA (pDNA) should be cGMP compliant, economically feasible, and environmentally friendly. Alcohol and salt precipitation techniques are frequently used in plasmid DNA (pDNA) downstream processing, as concentration and prepurification steps, respectively. This work describes a study of a standard 2-propanol (IsopOH; 0.7 v/v) and ammonium sulfate (AS; 2.5 M) precipitation. When inserted in a full process, this tandem precipitation scheme represents a high economic and environmental impact due to the large amounts of the two precipitant agents and their environmental relevance. Thus, major goals of the study were the minimization of precipitants and the selection of the best operating conditions for high pDNA recovery and purity. The pDNA concentration in the starting Escherichia coli alkaline lysate strongly affected the efficiency of IsopOH precipitation as a concentration step. The results showed that although an IsopOH concentration of at least 0.6 (v/v) was required to maximize recovery when using lysates with less than 80 microg pDNA/mL, concentrations as low as 0.4 v/v could be used with more concentrated lysates (170 microg pDNA/mL). Following resuspension of pDNA pellets generated by 0.6 v/v IsopOH, precipitation at 4 degrees C with 2.4 M AS consistently resulted in recoveries higher than 80% and in removal of more than 90% of the impurities (essentially RNA). An experimental design further indicated that AS concentrations could be reduced down to 2.0 M, resulting in an acceptable purity (21-23%) without compromising recovery (84-86%). Plasmid recovery and purity after the sequential IsopOH/AS precipitation could be further improved by increasing the concentration factor (CF) upon IsopOH precipitation from 2 up to 25. Under these conditions, IsopOH and AS concentrations of 0.60 v/v and 1.6 M resulted in high recovery (approximately 100%) and purity (32%). In conclusion, it is possible to reduce substantially the mass of precipitation agents used without affecting recovery, if a small concession is made regarding purity. This directly translates into an improvement of the process economics and in a reduction of the environmental impact of the process.

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