A Compact Soft X-Ray Microbeam Facility for Small Laboratories

描述(申请人提供)：小型实验室的紧凑型软X射线微束设备：自然和人造来源的辐射无处不在；对其影响的研究--既有害又有益--是NIH和相关卫生机构使命的主要组成部分。放射生物微束是能够向单个细胞(或部分细胞)发送精确的辐射侮辱并评估其生物反应的设施；基于这项技术的发展和发现(参见参考文献)使我们在理解辐射损伤的详细机制和细胞对这种损伤的反应方面取得了重大进展。目前，微束设备需要大型粒子加速器或同步加速器，这使得它们无法进入较小的实验室。将在这一快速通道计划内开发和商业化的微束设备结合了紧凑型软X射线源和现代化且灵活的终端站。Energetiq科技公司开发了一种新的光源技术--无电极z-Pinch氙气等离子体源，最初用于半导体制造行业，波长为13.5 nm(92 EV)，可以提供软X射线源，使实验室规模的微束研究设施成为可能。该设施的成本和大小将与电子显微镜相当。为了发展微束源，将利用类氦系统中的光学跃迁，如Ne~(8+)和Ar~(16+)，将光子能量提高到1keV到3keV。将评估诸如聚焦毛细管和掠入射收集器等X射线光学选择，以替代昂贵和易碎的波带片。该项目涉及与哥伦比亚大学辐射研究加速器设施(RARAF)的重大合作。他们将开发终端站，包括光学显微镜、微定位硬件、剂量计量、控制和用户界面。集成产品将在该计划的最后阶段安装在RARAF。几十年来，了解各种规模和各种剂量率的电离辐射的影响一直是医学和生物学研究的一个主要领域。针对单个细胞的精确聚焦辐射-微束，以及成像技术的进步，如研究单个受损DNA链的能力，结合在一起提供了一种独特的强大(但通常是大型和昂贵的)研究工具。我们的目标是为小型实验室开发和销售紧凑型软X射线微束设备。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): A Compact Soft X-Ray Microbeam Facility for Small Laboratories: Radiation due natural and manmade sources is ubiquitous; research into its effects -- both harmful and beneficial -- is a major component of the mission of the NIH and related health agencies. Radiobiological microbeams are facilities able to deliver precise radiation insults to individual cells (or parts of them) and to assess their biological response; developments and discoveries based on this technique (see Bibliography for extensive references) have led to significant advances in our understanding of the detailed mechanisms of radiation damage and cellular response to such damage. Currently, microbeam facilities require large particle accelerators or synchrotron sources, placing them out of reach of smaller laboratories. The microbeam facility to be developed and commercialized within this Fast-Track program combines a compact soft X-ray source with a modern and flexible endstation. Energetiq Technology, Inc. has developed a novel light source technology -- an electrodeless z-pinch xenon plasma source, originally for use in the semiconductor fabrication industry at 13.5nm wavelength (92 eV), that could provide a source of soft x-rays to enable a lab-scale microbeam research facility. The cost and size of the facility would be comparable to an electron microscope. To develop the microbeam source, the photon energy will be raised to the 1 KeV to 3 KeV range by exploiting optical transitions in helium-like systems such as neon 8+ and argon 16+. Options for X-ray optics such as focusing capillaries and grazing incidence collectors will be assessed as alternatives to expensive and fragile zone plates. The project involves a major collaboration with the Columbia University Radiological Research Accelerator Facility (RARAF). They will develop the endstation, including optical microscopy, micro-positioning hardware, dose metrology, controls and the user interface. The integrated product will be installed at RARAF in the last phase of the program. Understanding the effects of ionizing radiation at all size scales and a variety of dose rates has for decades been a major area of medical and biological research. Precisely focused radiation -- microbeams -- directed at individual cells, and advances in imaging technology such as the ability to study individual damaged DNA strands, combine to provide a uniquely powerful (but typically large and expensive) research tool. Our goal is to develop and market A Compact Soft X-Ray Microbeam Facility for Small Laboratories.