Specific radioactivity

Radioactivity Specific, radioactive-labeled compounds Low levels... 

Figure 5. Comparison of enzymic activity (stimulation of methane formation) ar radioactive specific activities of the propyl-B 2 enzyme from gel...

It is not necessary for every molecule of a compound to be radioactive for us to use the radioactivity as a measure of concentration (and, thereby, determine reaction rates, and so on). All that is necessary is that the sample contain enough radioactive molecules to count accurately and that we know the specific activity of the compound. Specific activity (S.A.) refers to the amount of radioactivity per unit amount of substance. It is, in fact, a way of designating the fraction of the total molecules present that is radioactive. Specific activity may be given in terms of curies per gram (Ci/g), millicuries... 

At the end of each incubation time, cells were centrifuged for 5 min at 500g. The supernatant was removed, the cells were washed twice with DMEM and the radioactivity was measured. The percentage of radioactivity specifically bound was determined from these data. Geometric corrections were made to... 

In most cases, in practice, a = /3 = 0.05 then the CDL and MDA are defined with a 95% confidence limit. For radioactivity specifically, remember that... 

Isotope Mass [g DU] Radioactivity [%] Specific activity [Bqg- ] Mass [g g" DU] Specific activity [Bq g- ]... 

Isotopes can be radioactive or non-radioactive. Specific radioisotopes (radioactive isotopes) can be used to check for leaks in oil or gas pipelines and to check the thickness of paper. They are also used in medicine to treat some types of cancer and to check the activity of the thyroid gland in the throat. 

Specific activity cpm/fjimole Radioactivity Specific in carbon chain activity % cpm/fjtmole Radioactivity in carbon chain %... 

Radioactive isotopes show excellent properties as tracers since they are detectable in very low concentrations (i.e. high dilution) and with high specificity. Further y-emitting radioactive tracers can be measured in situ, through pipe and vessel walls which enables e.g. studies of processes under high pressures, and processes involving a gaseous phase. 

Tajima and co-workers [108] determined the surface excess of sodium dode-cyl sulfate by means of the radioactivity method, using tritiated surfactant of specific activity 9.16 Ci/mol. The area of solution exposed to the detector was 37.50 cm. In a particular experiment, it was found that with 1.0 x 10" Af surfactant the surface count rate was 17.0 x 10 counts per minute. Separate calibration showed that of this count was 14.5 X 10 came from underlying solution, the rest being surface excess. It was also determined that the counting efficiency for surface material was 1.1%. Calculate F for this solution. 

Most chemical iavestigations with plutonium to date have been performed with Pu, but the isotopes Pu and Pu (produced by iatensive neutron irradiation of plutonium) are more suitable for such work because of their longer half-Hves and consequendy lower specific activities. Much work on the chemical properties of americium has been carried out with Am, which is also difficult to handle because of its relatively high specific alpha radioactivity, about 7 x 10 alpha particles/(mg-min). The isotope Am has a specific alpha activity about twenty times less than Am and is thus a more attractive isotope for chemical iavestigations. Much of the earher work with curium used the isotopes and Cm, but the heavier isotopes... 

The rationale for the development of such fibers is demonstrated by their appHcation in the medical field, notably hemoperfusion, where cartridges loaded with activated charcoal-filled hoUow fiber contact blood. Low molecular weight body wastes diffuse through the fiber walls and are absorbed in the fiber core. In such processes, the blood does not contact the active sorbent direcdy, but faces the nontoxic, blood compatible membrane (see Controlled RELEASE TECHNOLOGY, pharmaceutical). Other uses include waste industrial appHcations as general as chromates and phosphates and as specific as radioactive/nuclear materials. 

Nucleic acid (deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA)) probes utilize labeled, ie, radioactive, enzymatic, or fluorescent, fragments of DNA or RNA (the probe) to detect complimentary DNA or RNA sequences in a sample. Because the probe is tailored for one specific nucleic acid, these assays are highly specific and very sensitive (45). 

ImmunO lSS iy. Chemiluminescence compounds (eg, acridinium esters and sulfonamides, isoluminol), luciferases (eg, firefly, marine bacterial, Benilla and Varela luciferase), photoproteins (eg, aequorin, Benilld), and components of bioluminescence reactions have been tested as replacements for radioactive labels in both competitive and sandwich-type immunoassays. Acridinium ester labels are used extensively in routine clinical immunoassay analysis designed to detect a wide range of hormones, cancer markers, specific antibodies, specific proteins, and therapeutic dmgs. An acridinium ester label produces a flash of light when it reacts with an alkaline solution of hydrogen peroxide. The detection limit for the label is 0.5 amol. 

Although the size separation/classification methods are adequate in some cases to produce a final saleable mineral product, in a vast majority of cases these produce Httle separation of valuable minerals from gangue. Minerals can be separated from one another based on both physical and chemical properties (Fig. 8). Physical properties utilized in concentration include specific gravity, magnetic susceptibility, electrical conductivity, color, surface reflectance, and radioactivity level. Among the chemical properties, those of particle surfaces have been exploited in physico-chemical concentration methods such as flotation and flocculation. The main objective of concentration is to separate the valuable minerals into a small, concentrated mass which can be treated further to produce final mineral products. In some cases, these methods also produce a saleable product, especially in the case of industrial minerals. 

There should be specific, saturable binding to the receptor, accompanied by pharmacological characteristics appropriate to the functional effects, demonstrable using a radioactive, eg, tritium or iodine-125, ligand to label the receptor. Radioligand binding assays (1,6) have become a significant means by which to identify and characterize receptors and enzymes (see Immunoassays Radioactive tracers). Isolation of the receptor or expression of the receptor in another cell, eg, an oocyte can be used to confirm the existence of a discrete entity. 

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