Radioisotopes, applications

A clear understanding of processes in natural systems, which is critical to the interpretation of many such disturbance studies, can be difficult to achieve. Although radioisotopes facilitate the nonintrusive study of biogeo-chemical processes in undisturbed ecosystems (22-25), radioisotope applications may be impossible for a variety of operational and political reasons. 

IAEA (2002). Radioisotope Applications for Troubleshooting and Optimizing Industrial Processes, RCA in India, March, 2002... 

Radioisotope applications (tracers, radiation sources, thermal sources) Millions... 

Various computed tomography CT- scanners for industrial applications have been designed and constructed) They use as radiation sources X-ray tubes or gamma emitting radioisotopes and as detectors NaI(Tl)-scintillators for gamma rays and image intensifiers for X-rays. 

Many applications ia tracer technology require products of high specific activity, ie, compounds having a high degree of substitution of specific atoms with radioisotopes. For many labeled compounds nearly 100% labeling can be achieved at one or more locations ia a molecule usiag... 

Table 16. Decay Data for Radioisotopes of Interest in Applications...

The immunochemical interaction between the antigen and antibody is very specific. By labeling either the antigen or antibody, the method s sensitivity is increased. The most frequently used labels to increase sensitivity are radionucHdes (see Radioisotopes) where the assay process is called radioimmunoassay (RIA), or en2ymes where the assay is named en2yme immunoassay (ElA) (see Enzyme applications). 

The abundance of a trace element is often too small to be accurately quantihed using conventional analytical methods such as ion chromatography or mass spectrometry. It is possible, however, to precisely determine very low concentrations of a constituent by measuring its radioactive decay properties. In order to understand how U-Th series radionuclides can provide such low-level tracer information, a brief review of the basic principles of radioactive decay and the application of these radionuclides as geochronological tools is useful. " The U-Th decay series together consist of 36 radionuclides that are isotopes (same atomic number, Z, different atomic mass, M) of 10 distinct elements (Figure 1). Some of these are very short-lived (tj j 1 -nd are thus not directly useful as marine tracers. It is the other radioisotopes with half-lives greater than 1 day that are most useful and are the focus of this chapter. 

The diffusion coefficients of cations in metal oxides are usually measured through the use of radioactive isotopes. Because of the friable nature of oxides it is exU emely difficult to use the sectioning technique employed for metal samples. The need for this can be avoided by the application of radioisotopes which emit radiation having a well established absorption law in matter. Isotopes which emit y radiation are very useful when the cation has a relatively high diffusion coefficient because of the long-range peneU ation of y rays. The absorption law is... 

Another application involves the measurement of copper via the radioisotope Cu (12.6-hour half-life). Since Cu decays by electron capture to Ni ( Cu Ni), a necessary consequence is the emission of X rays from Ni at 7.5 keV. By using X-ray spectrometry following irradiation, sensitive Cu analysis can be accomplished. Because of the short range of the low-energy X rays, near-surface analytical data are obtained without chemical etching. A combination of neutron activation with X-ray spectrometry also can be applied to other elements, such as Zn and Ge. 

Radioisotopes have important commercial applications. For example, americium-241 is used in smoke detectors. Its role is to ionize any smoke particles, which then allow a current to flow and set off the alarm. Exposure to radiation is also used to sterilize food and inhibit the sprouting of potatoes. Radioisotopes that give off a lot of energy as heat are also used to provide power in remote locations, where refueling of generators is not possible. Unmanned spacecraft, such as Voyager 2, are powered by radiation from plutonium. 

C22-0012. Radioisotopes are used in many research applications. Because they decay continuously, the shelf life... 

Conventional use has been made of the radioisotope C, and details need hardly be given here. Illustrative examples include the elucidation of pathways for the anaerobic degradation of amino acids (Chapter 7, Part 1) and purines (Chapter 10, Part 1). Some applications have used C with high-resolution Fourier transform NMR in whole-cell suspensions, and this is equally applicable to molecules containing the natural or the synthetic P nuclei. As noted later, major advances in NMR have made it possible to use natural levels of C. 

IEC continues to have numerous applications to the detection and quantification of various inorganic ions.1 1 This is particularly true in water analysis.5-14 Inorganic ions in a variety of other sample types, such as food and beverages,1518 rocks,19-23 biological fluids, (blood, urine, etc.),24-31 pharmaceutical substances,32 33 concentrated acids,34 alcohols,35 and cleanroom air36 have also been analyzed by IEC. IEC has also been employed in isotopic separation of ions,37 including the production of radioisotopes for therapeutic purposes.3839 Typical IEC sample matrices are complex, and may contain substances that interfere with measurement of the ion(s) of interest. The low detection limits required for many IEC separations demand simple extraction procedures and small volumes to avoid over-dilution. Careful choice and manipulation of the eluent(s) may be needed to achieve the desired specificity, especially when multiple ions are to be determined in a single sample. 

Both naturally occurring and artificial radioisotopes find application in medicine, industrial products, and consumer products. Some specific radioisotopes, called fall-out, are still found in the environment as a result of nuclear weapons use or testing. 

The theories that have been developed to describe mass transfer arise from the law of conservation of mass, which states that mass can be neither created nor destroyed. According to this law, the total mass in a particular region in space can increase only by the addition of mass from the surroundings and can decrease only by the loss of mass back to them. Processes such as radioisotope decay and nuclear fission are exceptions to this law, since they involve the interconversion of matter and energy. In the absence of nuclear decay, however, the law of conservation of mass holds and is broadly applicable to mass transfer problems. 

The utilization of radioisotopes in the field of nuclear medicine has been promoted for various purposes. Among them, diagnostic applications have had much success during the past two decades. Technetium-99m, thallium-210 and iodine-123, for example, have been used as radioisotopes for imaging studies. 

DTPA has also been used in the peptide-based " in-DTPA-octreotide. Octreotide is a shortened peptide analog of somatostatin designed to be more stable in vivo. Radiolabeling of octreotide for diagnostic imaging applications with radioisotopes for PET or SPECT has been investigated,... 

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