Application of AMS (accelerator mass spectrometry) to the biomedical sciences

Conference · Wed Apr 18 00:00:00 EDT 1990

OSTI ID:6969627

Vogel, J S; Gledhill, B L; Proctor, I D; Turteltaub, K W; Nelson, D E; Davis, J C; Felton, J S; Southon, J R

Radioisotopic tracers are a useful tool in numerous areas of biomedical research, including metabolism, pharmacokinetics, and the detailed study of biomolecular interactions. Accelerator mass spectrometry was suggested as a tool for the biomedical sciences shortly after its invention, but few attempts to use its sensitivity in such research have been reported. We have examined some of the strengths and limitations of the technique and find that AMS has a sensitivity advantage over decay-counting for the long-lived radioisotopes and for shorter-lived, common radiotracers. The advantage can be translated into the use of much smaller sample sizes and much lower radioisotope concentrations, both of which present new opportunities for biochemical tracing and human research. New approaches to separation and preparation of the material to be assayed for radiotracers will be developed to take advantage of the sensitivity and specificity. Most biochemical laboratories have used radioactive isotopes as tracers and their facilities have been contaminated with unacceptably high levels of these tracers. Careful protocols and/or new facilities are required to prevent contamination of the AMS samples. 23 refs., 3 figs.

• Research Organization: Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: DOE/DP
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-48
• OSTI ID: 6969627
• Report Number(s): UCRL-102985; CONF-900491-5; ON: DE90010869
• Resource Relation: Conference: 5. international conference on accelerator mass spectrometry, Paris (France), 23-27 Apr 1990
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE
47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION
ISOTOPE APPLICATIONS
RESEARCH PROGRAMS
ACCELERATOR FACILITIES
ACCELERATORS
BROMINE 79
CARBON 14
IODINE 129
LABELLED COMPOUNDS
LAWRENCE LIVERMORE LABORATORY
MASS SPECTROMETERS
METABOLISM
NUCLEAR MEDICINE
PHARMACOLOGY
RADIATION EFFECTS
RADIOISOTOPES
RADIOLYSIS
SELENIUM 75
SELENIUM 79
SENSITIVITY
SPECIFICITY
TRACER TECHNIQUES
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BROMINE ISOTOPES
CARBON ISOTOPES
CHEMICAL RADIATION EFFECTS
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
CHEMISTRY
DAYS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
DECOMPOSITION
ELECTRON CAPTURE RADIOISOTOPES
EVEN-EVEN NUCLEI
EVEN-ODD NUCLEI
INTERMEDIATE MASS NUCLEI
INTERNAL CONVERSION RADIOISOTOPES
IODINE ISOTOPES
ISOMERIC TRANSITION ISOTOPES
ISOTOPES
LIGHT NUCLEI
MEASURING INSTRUMENTS
MEDICINE
MINUTES LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NUCLEI
ODD-EVEN NUCLEI
RADIATION CHEMISTRY
SECONDS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
SELENIUM ISOTOPES
SPECTROMETERS
STABLE ISOTOPES
US AEC
US DOE
US ERDA
US ORGANIZATIONS
YEARS LIVING RADIOI
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
550201* - Biochemistry- Tracer Techniques
550601 - Medicine- Unsealed Radionuclides in Diagnostics
550501 - Metabolism- Tracer Techniques
550301 - Cytology- Tracer Techniques
550100 - Behavioral Biology
440800 - Miscellaneous Instrumentation- (1990-)