title: Heavy-ion microbeam system at JAEA-Takasaki for microbeam biology.
abstract: Research concerning cellular responses to low dose irradiation, radiation-induced bystander effects, and the biological track structure of charged particles has recently received particular attention in the field of radiation biology. Target irradiation employing a microbeam represents a useful means of advancing this research by obviating some of the disadvantages associated with the conventional irradiation strategies. The heavy-ion microbeam system at JAEA-Takasaki, which was planned in 1987 and started in the early 1990's, can provide target irradiation of heavy charged particles to biological material at atmospheric pressure using a minimum beam size 5 mum in diameter. A variety of biological material has been irradiated using this microbeam system including cultured mammalian and higher plant cells, isolated fibers of mouse skeletal muscle, silkworm (Bombyx mori) embryos and larvae, Arabidopsis thaliana roots, and the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. The system can be applied to the investigation of mechanisms within biological organisms not only in the context of radiation biology, but also in the fields of general biology such as physiology, developmental biology and neurobiology, and should help to establish and contribute to the field of "microbeam biology".
authors.affiliation: Microbeam Radiation Biology Group, Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Gunma, Japan. funayama.tomo@jaea.go.jp
authors.forename: Tomoo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Funayama
authors.forename: Seiichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wada
authors.forename: Yuichiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yokota
authors.forename: Kana
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Fukamoto
authors.forename: Tetsuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sakashita
authors.forename: Mitsumasa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Taguchi
authors.forename: Takehiko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kakizaki
authors.forename: Nobuyuki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hamada
authors.forename: Michiyo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.forename: Yoshiya
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Furusawa
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Watanabe
authors.forename: Kenji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kiguchi
authors.forename: Yasuhiko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001331:Automation / Q000295:instrumentation; D002477:Cells / Q000528:radiation effects; D017357:Cyclotrons / Q000295:instrumentation*; D004867:Equipment Design; D020450:Heavy Ions; D007564:Japan; D010944:Plants / Q000528:radiation effects; D011853:Radiobiology / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*; D011874:Radiometry