Mutation and Inactivation of Cultured Mammalian Cells Exposed to Beams of Accelerated Heavy Ions

Abstract

This paper, which is the first of four covering the inactivation of clonogenic capacity and induction of mutation in cultured mammalian cells, deals briefly with the general aims of the work and describes the irradiation techniques used. Human diploid fibroblasts and V79 Chinese hamster cells were irradiated as monolayers with ions of helium, boron or nitrogen at LETs in the range 20 to 470 keV µm⁻¹ in H₂O. The physical aspects of the irradiation including measurement of ion energies, dosimetry and uniformity of dose and also the methods of handling large numbers of samples are described in detail. Subsequent papers will present the biological methods and results and a biophysical analysis of the data.