**8. Conclusion**

Predicting the response of nanostructured materials for radiation environments is a new and rapidly developing field that is still poorly understood. The exposure to a range of ionizing photon irradiation has already found application in medical radiation therapies and will continue to gain traction in the coming years. In contrast, much less has been done to study neutron and charged particle irradiation effects on gold nanoparticles. The initial studies that have been done to study the radiation response of gold nanoparticles to charged particle irradiation indicate that a significant enhancement of sputtering yield is present. This enhanced sputtering leads to the rapid disintegration of the original nanoparticle and the formation of unique satellite nanoscale arrangements. Further modeling and experimental efforts are needed prior to the trusted incorporation of gold nanoparticles into other radiation environments (medical, space, or nuclear) being considered.
