Irradiation of cultured mammalian cells with ultrasoft X-rays: experimental set-up and dose calculation for non-monochromatic beams

An experimental set-up is described for irradiating cultured mammalian cell s with ultrasoft X-rays produced by a laser-plasma source developed at the ENEA-CRE in Frascati (Italy), using a non-monochromatic beam of energies (0 .90 divided by 1.56) keV. Dosimetry methods have been developed for such a beam, taking into account the different X-ray attenuation for the various e nergy components. The dependence on cell depth of the dose (expressed in te rms of kerma) in V79 cell nucleus has been evaluated, assuming various geom etrical models that can be generalized to other types of cells. (C) 1999 El sevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.