Technology from IMP to Society----Institute of Modern Physics

China's First Home-Made Carbon Ion Cancer Therapy Facility

As the first heavy ion medical device with independent intellectual property rights in China, HIMM is of great significance for improving cancer treatment in China.
　　Energetic carbon ions are characterized by a high ionization density and a high relative biological effectiveness, culminating in a sharp maximum at a discrete penetration depth that coincides with the maximum physical dose around the so-called Bragg peak. The peak energy depositions can be targeted three-dimensionally with a minimal risk of directly harming surrounding healthy tissue. Heavy ion beam is considered to be the most optimal radiation for tumor treatment in the field of radiotherapy, and therefore heavy ion tumor therapy is attracting growing interest all over the world.
　　The Institute of Modern Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, cooperating with Lanzhou Kejin Taiji Corpration, Ltd., developed china’s first hospital-based tumor therapy facility—Heavy Ion Medical Machine (HIMM), which was installed in Wuwei, Gansu Province of China. The facility was certificated as the medical device on Sept, 2019 and was put into clinical treatment on March, 2020. Until the end of 2020, 183 patients have been treated with good therapeutic effects and the facility has received much attention from the society.
　　New carbon ion projects have been constructed in Lanzhou, Putian, Wuhan, Hangzhou and so on. As more carbon ion projects are built and put into operation, heavy ion therapy technology will benefit more cancer patients.
　　As the first heavy ion medical device with independent intellectual property rights in China, HIMM is of great significance for improving cancer treatment in China. With considerable contributions to the national health, HIMM is regarded as the excellent example of large science facility benefiting society.
　　Figure 1: Carbon ion cancer therapy facility—synchrotron accelerator
　　Figure 2: Vertical + horizontal treatment terminal
　　
　　Contact:
　　Ms.Wang
　　Tel: 86-931-4969623
　　mail:wangk@impcas.ac.cn
　　ADD: 509 Nanchang Road, Lanzhou Gansu, China,730000
　　

| 23 08, 2021

Ion-track Etched Membrane Technology

As the most sophisticated pore membrane material in the world, ion-track etched membranes have some features such as controllable pore density, controllable and well-distributed pore diameter, regular pore formation and smooth membrane surface without fiber falling down.
　　The ion-track etched membrane is also called nuclear pore membrane or track-etched membrane. After the polymeric film is penetrated by heavy ions, the pore diameter is enlarged through chemical etching, thus forming the ion-track etched membrane.
　　As the most sophisticated pore membrane material in the world, ion-track etched membranes have some features such as controllable pore density, controllable and well-distributed pore diameter, regular pore formation and smooth membrane surface without fiber falling down.
　　Industrialization Foundation
　　The Heavy Ion Research Facility in Lanzhou (HIRFL), constructed by the Institute of Modern Physics (IMP) of the Chinese Academy of Science, provides an unique prerequisite to manufacture ion-track etched membranes.
　　In 2012, an irradiation terminal for ion-track etched membrane production was established at HIRFL, whose maximum irradiation area up to 10,000m2 per hour. In 2015, the etching bases were respectively established in Wuwei, Zaozhuang and Xuzhou, which are able to massively produce dozens of models of ion-track etched membrane. In 2019, the Ion-track Etched Membrane Industrial R&D Center and Huizhou Research Center of Ion-membrane Materials were set up in Huizhou, Guangdong province, engaging in new material studies, technical R&D as well as its popularization, with the focus on water treatment field.
　　
　　 Huizhou Research Center of Ion-membrane Materials
　　Main Products
　　Currently, the major products of ion-track etched membranes for sale include irradiation membranes, etched membranes, composite membranes, cell examination membranes, air filtration products, wastewater treatment membrane units and subassemblies, oxygen aerator tubes, materials for precise infusion sets, etc.
　　
　　 Ion-track etched membrane materials for precise infusion sets
　　
　　Specialized TCT filtration membranes
　　
　　
　　Products for wastewater treatment, including membrane units & subassemblies
　　
　　 Tubular ion-track etched membrane subassemblies
　　
　　 Ion-track etched membrane oxygen aerator tube
　　Ongoing Research Projects
　　The innovation & demonstration project for wastewater treatment by ion-track etched membranes is located at Hongda Road, Huinan High-tech Industrial Park, Huizhou, with a total investment amount up to RMB 10 million and capacity of treatment up to 5,000 tonnes per day.
　　The indexes of produced water from wastewater can stably keep in accordance with relevant standards above Class V listed in Environment Quality Standards for Surface Water. (GB3838-2002).
　　As the project has served as a good example, a future project is being planned, with the design capacity of treatment in total up to 20,000 tonnes per day and the estimated comprehensive profits reaching RMB 50 million per year.
　　Industrialization Demands
　　IMP is committed to popularizing the industrial application of ion-track etched membrane materials in air filtration, wastewater treatment, purified water for household use, medical filtration, biological cell measuring, food and beverage filtration, anti-counterfeit labels and battery diaphragms, with a view to making the ion-track etched membrane technology accessible in life and benefiting the society and people.
　　
　　 Industrial application of ion-track etched membrane technology
　　
　　
　　Contact:
　　Mr.Hu
　　Tel: 0931-4969204
　　mail:hulingang@impcas.ac.cn
　　ADD: 509 Nanchang Road, Lanzhou Gansu, China, 730000
　　

| 23 08, 2021

Mutation Breeding by Heavy Ion Beams

Characterized by high mutagenesis efficiency, wide mutation spectrum and relatively short stable period of mutants, heavy ion beam mutagenesis technology has been widely used for germplasm creation and new variety breeding in plants and microbes.
　　Mutation Breeding by heavy ion beams indicates the process of using medium and high-energy heavy ion beams to irradiate plants or microorganisms, induce genetic variation, and eventually form new plant varieties or new microbial strains.
　　Characterized by high mutagenesis efficiency, wide mutation spectrum and relatively short stable period of mutants, heavy ion beam mutagenesis technology has been widely used for germplasm creation and new variety breeding in plants and microbes.
　　Industrialization Foundation
　　Heavy ion Research Facility in Lanzhou (HIRFL) operated by the Institute of Modern Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, is a large particle accelerator which can produce medium and high-energy ion beams from proton to uranium. It can irradiate plants and microbial materials in various sample states in air instead of in vacuum conditions.
　　The shallow-seated biological radiation platform at HIRFL integrates the detection system with real-time beam online monitors and the automatic sample holder device. It has become the prominent high-energy heavy ion beams mutation breeding platform in China due to its excellent characters, such as high efficiency, high precision and high throughput.
　　In 2019, Kejin Innovation Institute of Heavy Ion Beam Biological Industry, Baiyin, Gansu, was established, mainly engaged in mutation breeding, biological products development and promotion, as well as enterprise incubation.
　　Kejin Innovation Institute of Heavy Ion beam Biological Industry, Baiyin, Gansu
　　Main products
　　The new varieties obtained by heavy ion beam irradiation include: wheat (Longfu 2), rice (Dongdao 122), sunflower (Jinkui 1), sweet sorghum (Jintian 1), flower (Donghua xiacao), Isatidis Folium (Zhongqing 1), and etc. The mutant resources of Soybean, Rice, Arabidopsis thaliana, Chinese herbs have been developed, which can be used for the research of gene function. Several new strains of microbes with high yield metabolic product, such as Aspergillus Niger (H4002), Streptomyces avermitilis (AV203), yeast , Trichoderma longibrachiatum , lactic acid bacteria and intestinal regulate probiotics, were bred. The biological products developed include sweet sorghum jam, fructose syrup, glucan, ethanol and liquor, disinfectant, cellulase, silage agent, corn yellow storage starter and probiotic solid beverage, etc.
　　Wheat—Longfu No. 2
　　Rice—Dongdao 122
　　 Sunflower—Jinkui No. 1
　　Sweet sorghum—Jintian No. 1
　　Wandering Jew—Donghua xiacao
　　 Isatidis Folium—Zhongqing No. 1
　　Sweet sorghum sauce
　　Sweet sorghum fructose syrup
　　 Carboxymethyl glucans
　　Sweet sorghum liquor
　　Sweet sorghum ethanol
　　Tea tree essential oil disinfectant
　　 Sweet sorghum silage starter
　　Cellulase preparation
　　Ongoing Research Projects
　　The project of biological germplasm Innovation by high-energy heavy ion beam irradiation and application research is performed in the incubator base of Baiyin High-tech Industrial Park, with a total investment of 10 million Chinese yuan.
　　The project focuses on breeding research of crops, horticultural plants, industrial microorganisms with high-energy heavy ion beam irradiations and developing biological products with high value-added. In addition, new specifications of mutation breeding by high-energy heavy ion beams will be established.
　　So far, we have obtained a series of achievements, including more than 30 new mutants of ornamental sunflower, 2 soybean mutation resource banks, 1 lavender cultivation technique, 1 set of lavender essential oil extraction technique. One strain of L-lactic acid bacteria with high yield, two strains of Trichoderma longibrachiatum and Aspergillus Niger producing cellulase, three strains of excellent yeast, one strain of glucan yeast with high yield, sweet sorghum series jam, and one set of sustainable technique for the recovery of sucrose from sugar beet molasses.
　　Industrialization Demands
　　We are committed to promoting the application of heavy ion beam mutagenesis technology in biological resources such as food crops, cash crops, horticultural plants and microorganisms, creating new plants and microbial germplasm and new varieties/strains, developing high value-added biological products, and making contributions to the sustainable development of biological industry.
　　
　　Contact:
　　Ms.Lan
　　Tel: 86-931-4969624
　　E-mail:lanxin@impcas.ac.cn
　　ADD: 509 Nanchang Road, Lanzhou Gansu, China, 730000
　　
　　

| 23 08, 2021

Industrial Electron Accelerator

Researchers at IMP took more than ten years for the R&D of the DG-type electron accelerator until the first industrialized accelerator entered the market in 2007. Up to now, it has been developed into a series of 5 models, and has gained a good reputation in the market.
　　1. The DG-type electron accelerator
　　The DG-type electron accelerator is an industrial installation independently developed by the Institute of Modern Physics (IMP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). With the beam energy ranging from 0.5MeV to 2.5MeV, the maximum beam current of 150mA, the maximum power of 120kW and the power conversion efficiency of above 70%, the electron accelerator is quite suitable to be applied in industry for its compact structure, stable operation and simple maintenance.
　　It took more than ten years for the R&D of the DG-type electron accelerator until the first industrialized accelerator entered the market in 2007. Up to now, it has been developed into a series of 5 models, and has gained a good reputation in the market.
　　The DG-type electron accelerator is mainly used in the field of radiation processing, which refers to a new technology of processing matter and materials by means of ionizing radiation. Gradually developed after mechanical processing and chemical processing, it is one of the main application areas of peaceful use of atomic energy. Now widely used in various aspects of industry, agriculture, medical and health care, radiation processing has applied in industrial scale in a wide range of areas, such as cross-linking wire, cables, heat-shrinkable materials, rubber vulcanization, foamed plastics, medical supplies disinfection, food irradiation preservation, waste water and waste gas treatment.
　　Type
　　Energy（MeV）
　　Current（mA）
　　Power（kW）
　　DG-0.5
　　0.3～0.5
　　150
　　75
　　DG-0.8
　　0.5～0.8
　　50
　　40
　　DG-1.2
　　0.8～1.2
　　50
　　60
　　DG-1.5
　　1.0～1.5
　　100
　　120
　　DG-2.5
　　1.2～2.5
　　50
　　100
　　Table. 1. The main parameters of DG-type electron accelerator
　　Fig.1. The 3D picture of the DG-type electron accelerator
　　Fig. 2. Application of electron accelerator in irradiation of wire and cable
　　 Fig.3. Application of electron accelerator in wastewater treatment
　　
　　2. The compact electron curtain accelerator
　　With the continuous progress of science and technology and the improvement of living standards, people are paying more and more attention to environmental protection and food safety. Despite the various means of disinfection and sterilization, radiation method, both efficient and environmentally friendly, has been increasingly applied especially in developed countries.
　　As a high-efficiency and low-energy electron accelerator, the curtain electron accelerator is generally employed in the fields of surface curing, film irradiation, food packaging, surface disinfection and sterilization, etc. Besides, it has been industrialized abroad and applied to the production lines.
　　Early electron curtain accelerators were single-filament structures, and the emission of electron beams was limited. Due to the high processing capabilities required by the curing application in the late period, a multi-filament structure for emitting large beams was developed (the main manufacturers are ESI and PCT). The electron curtain accelerator developed by IMP is a traditional single-filament accelerator with a symmetrical coaxial structure. With a a simple and compact structure, the electron curtain accelerator is easy to be embedded in the production line for operation. Its main parameters are as follows:
　　Electron beam energy：150keV
　　Adjustable range of electron beam energy：100～150keV
　　Adjustable range of electron beam current：0～10mA
　　Surface dose rate：about 760kGyMPM
　　Energy stability：≦±2%
　　Beam stability：≦±2%
　　Extraction window size：260×60mm
　　Uniformity of beam distribution：≦10%
　　Vacuum under load operation：better than 5×10-4Pa
　　Maximum beam power：1.5kW
　　Based on the electron curtain inactivated accelerator device independently developed by IMP, a joint R&D team has been formed by CGNPC, Tsinghua university, National Clinical Research Center for Infectious Disease, the Third People's Hospital of Shenzhen and IMP. The team has conquered a series of core technological challenges of killing novel coronavirus with electron beams and conducted a range of simulation and verification experiments, which have verified the safety, effectiveness and feasibility of using electron beams to kill novel coronavirus on the packaging of cold-chain food packaging. In the future, this type of electron curtain accelerator is expected to play a greater role in the field of surface disinfection and sterilization.
　　
　　Fig.4. The 3D model of a compact electron curtain accelerator
　　Fig.5. The schematic picture of compact electron curtain accelerator for cold-chain food packaging disinfection and sterilization
　　
　　Contact:
　　Ms.Wang
　　Tel: 86-931-4969624
　　mail:wangwenlu@impcas.ac.cn
　　ADD: 509 Nanchang Road, Lanzhou Gansu, China, 730000

| 03 12, 2021