Muonium response to oxygen content in biological aqueous solutions for cancer research

Muonium (Mu), which is known to exhibit a characteristic concentration dependent spin relaxation change when impacting molecular oxygen dissolved in water, was found to show a similar behaviour in aqueous solutions of Tris Buffered Saline (TBS), albumin, serum, and hemoglobin (Hb). These effects, along with the interaction of Mu with deoxy-Hb (which is modulated by oxygen by the formation of oxy-Hb) suggest that the muon method can be applied to systematic studies of oxygen dependent effects in biological systems. This muon method may particularly be applicable at low (hypoxic) oxygen levels, an important consideration in the radiation treatment of cancer.