Preparation of Radiotracers and Their Compounds

The exact amount of 1311 in the original precipitate must be known, but the activity of this precipitate is so high as to preclude its direct measurement in the well detector. Therefore, what one does is to prepare a standard dilution of the original I- solution that can be measured in the well detector. 

Attention must also be given to the disposal of radioactive wastes resulting from the experiment, such as excreta, carcasses, or large volumes of solutions. The possible method of disposal will depend on the specific radioisotope present, its concentration and activity, and the nature of the waste. 

There are several hundred radionuclides that have been used as radiotracers. A partial list of the properties of these nuclides and their production methods are shown in Table 4.1. The three common production mechanisms for the primary radionuclides are (n,y) or (n,p) or (n,a) reactions in a nuclear reactor (R), charged-particle-induced reactions usually involving the use of a cyclotron (C), and fission product nuclei (F), typically obtained by chemical separation from irradiated uranium. The neutron-rich nuclei are generally made using reactors or 

Nuclide Method of Production0 Half-Life Tracer Radiations/ Energy (MeV) 

In certain experiments, the primary radionuclides may be used directly, but usually the investigator wants to secure a specific labeled compound for use in radio-tracer experiments. Before considering the details of the production of these labeled compounds, let us discuss the nomenclature and rules used in referring to them. 

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