Issue Eur. Phys. J. D Volume 21, Number 2, November 2002 Page(s) 167 - 179 Section Plasma Physics DOI 10.1140/epjd/e2002-00194-y Published online 24 September 2002

Eur. Phys. J. D 21, 167-179 (2002)
DOI: 10.1140/epjd/e2002-00194-y

The use of high energy laser-plasma sources in soft X-ray contact microscopy of living biological samples

D. Batani¹, C. Botto¹, M. Moret¹, M. Milani¹, G. Lucchini¹, K. Eidmann², F. Cotelli³, C. Lora Lamia Donin³, G. Poletti³, T. Ford⁴ and A. Stead<sup>4

1</sup>  Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca and INFM, Piazza della Scienza 3, 20126 Milano, Italy
²  Max Planck Institut für Quantenoptik, Garching, Germany
³  Università di Milano, 20126 Milano, Italy
⁴  Royal Holloway, University of London, London, UK

batani@mib.infn.it

(Received 5 June 2002 Published online 24 September 2002 )

Abstract
In this paper the results of an experiment on soft X-ray contact microscopy using a laser-plasma source are presented. A resolution of 50 nm has been achieved imaging pig sperm cells, while other specimens, such as algae and yeast cells, showed internal details, proving the technique to be a powerful tool for biological investigations. Original biological information has been obtained and the conditions for optimal image formation have been studied.

PACS
07.85.-m - X- and gamma-ray instruments.
52.50.Jm - Plasma production and heating by laser beams (laser-foil, laser-cluster, etc.).
78.70.En - X-ray emission spectra and fluorescence.


© EDP Sciences, Società Italiana di Fisica, Springer-Verlag 2002

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