This paper presents the capabilities of the Geant4-DNA Monte Carlo toolkit to simulate water radiolysis with scavengers using the step-by-step (SBS) or the independent reaction times (IRT) methods. It features two examples of application areas: (1) computing the escape yield of H ₂ O ₂ following a ⁶⁰ Co γ-irradiation and (2) computing the oxygen depletion in water irradiated with 1 MeV electrons.
To ease the implementation of the chemical stage in Geant4-DNA, we developed a user interface that helps define the chemical reactions and set the concentration of scavengers. The first application area example required two computational steps to perform water radiolysis using NO ₂ ^- and NO ₃ ^- as scavengers and a ⁶⁰ Co irradiation. The oxygen depletion computation technique for the second application area example consisted of simulating track segments of 1 MeV electrons and determining the radio-induced loss and gain of oxygen molecules.
The production of H ₂ O ₂ under variable scavenging levels is consistent with the literature; the mean relative difference between the SBS and IRT methods is 7.2 % ± 0.5 %. For the oxygen depletion 1 µs post-irradiation, the mean relative difference between both methods is equal to 9.8 % ± 0.3 %. The results in the microsecond scale depend on the initial partial pressure of oxygen in water. In addition, the computed oxygen depletions agree well with the literature.
The Geant4-DNA toolkit makes it possible to simulate water radiolysis in the presence of scavengers. This feature offers perspectives in radiobiology, with the possibility of simulating cell-relevant scavenging mechanisms.