Inactivation of bacterial cells by cyclotron beams

B. subtilis spores, E. coli Bsub(s-1) and E. coli B/r were bombarded with α-particles and heavy ions of carbon, nitrogen and oxygen accelerated in the IPCR Cyclotron. The RBE versus LETsub(infinity) curve for B. subtilis spores showed a maximum peak at 120 keV/μm, while those for E. coli Bsub(s-1) and E. coli B/r declined without any maximum as LETsub(infinity) values increased. In the region of α-particles, the effective inactivation cross section (Ssub(eff)) for these three strains increased with increasing LETsub(infinity), and the rates of increase in Ssub(eff) in the LET region from --30 to --150 keV/μm were 15.0, 1.5 and 2.5 times for B. subtilis spores, E. coli Bsub(s-1) and E. coli B/r, respectively. In the case of B. subtilis spores, Ssub(eff) values for heavy ions were almost independent of their energies, but the other two strains showed a considerable dependence upon beam energy. The characteristic LET dependence of Ssub(eff) observed in this study was fairly well explained by the target theory based on microdose concept. (auth.)