Study of a X-ray laser-plasma source for radiobiological experiments: Microdosimetry analysis and plasma characterisation

A soft X-ray laser-plasma source, used in radiobiology experiments with yeast cells, was characterised with flat crystal spectrometers and P-I-N diodes, obtaining an absolute measurement of the emission spectrum. A comparison with the results of simulations performed with the code RATION allowed the characterisation of the emitting plasma. A model for the energy deposition in yeast cells was developed to take into account the different cell structures (wall-membrane complex, cytoplasm and nucleus). Dose calculations performed considering the source emission spectrum were compared with direct measurements of transmission through plastic foils and allowed to verify the hypothesis of preferential dose deposition in the outer cellular regions.