Study of multicellular living organisms by SXCM (Soft X-ray contact microscopy)

Soft X-ray Contact Microscopy (SXCM) of Caenorhabditis elegans nematodes with typical length 800 mu m and diameter 30 mu m has been performed using the PALS laser source of wavelength lambda = 1.314 mu m and pulse duration tau (FWHM) = 400 ps. Pulsed soft X-rays were generated using molybdenum and gold targets with laser intensities I >= 10(14) W/cm(2). Images have been recorded on PMMA photo resists and analyzed using an atomic force microscope operating in contact mode. Cuticle features and several internal organs have been identified in the SXCM images including lateral field, cuticle annuli, pharynx, and hypodermal and neuronal cell nuclei.