Development and characterization of urethane substituted diacetylene based radiochromic films for medical radiation dosimetry

In this work urethane substituted diacetylene compound was synthesized to prepare its radiochromic films which can be sensitive to therapeutic radiation doses. The developed radiochromic films showed significant color change from white to blue in 0–16 Gy dose range. The colorimetric spectral response of the developed films was studied and a maximum absorption at 624 nm was observed which increased with the radiation doses. The change in the morphology of the films pre and post irradiation was analyzed by acquiring their SEM images. The radiation induced color changes were studied quantitatively in terms of optical density by using high resolution Epson scanner along with MATLAB software. The dose response of the developed films was compared with the commercially available Gafchromic EBT3 films. Both the films showed similar dose response with an uncertainty of less than 2%. The post irradiation stability and environmental stability of the films were also analyzed. The films were found to be highly stable under normal environmental conditions with only 1.67% and 1.19% variation in optical density due to the change in temperature and light intensity, respectively. The developed radiochromic films were tissue equivalent and possessed promising characteristics for a potential film dosimeter for medical applications. •Preparation of urethane substituted diacetylene based radiochromic films.•Color change from white to different shades of blue in the dose range 0–16 Gy.•Film digitization using high resolution flatbed scanner and MATLAB software.•Tissue equivalent and environmentally stable films suitable for medical dosimetry.