Solid phase techniques radioactivity measurement

Radioactivity, however, is still a very sensitive means of measuring the presence or absence of a given material. Assay methodology has now come full circle, to the development of an ultrasensitive enzyme RIA. In this technique, an antigen is bound to a solid phase. Antibody will bind to the antigen, which could be a drug-protein conjugate, and the presence of bound antibody is detected by means of a second antibody coupled to alkaline phosphatase. So far this is the standard enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). However, if the substrate is tritium-labeled adenosine monophosphate, it is converted by the enzyme to tritium-labeled adenosine, which may be readily separated and measured. The detection limit for this assay for cholera toxin is approximately 600 molecules of the toxin (22). 

Ethanol has also received considerable attention as a solvent over a long period of time. Data on this solvent, however, are rather few compared to methanol and very few systematic studies exist. Several solubility studies have been made since the publication of Seidell and Linke. Thomas has reported solubilities for the alkali metal iodides at 20 and 25°C, and observed a decrease in solubility with an increase in ionic radius of the cation. Deno and Berkheimer have reported the solubilities of several tetraalkylammonium perchlorates. In every case the solid phase was the pure salt. Solubilities for several rare earth compounds have been reported.Since all of these salts form solvates in the solid phase, the results cannot be used in thermodynamic calculations without the corresponding thermodynamic values for the solid phases. Solubilities of silver chloride, caesium chloride, silver benzoate, silver salicylate and caesium nitrate have been measured in ethanol, using radioactive tracer techniques. Burgaud has measured the solubility of LiCl from 10.2 to 57.6°C and observed that there is a transition from the four-solvated solid phase to the non-solvated phase at 20.4°C. 

The potentiality of the emanation thermal analysis for the investigation of the hydration of cement and cement compounds has been discussed by Balek.t This technique is based on the measurement of radioactive gases released from the hydrating phase. The amount of gas released depends on the physico-chemical processes taking place in the solid. A quantitative estimation of the rate of hydration of cement and C3S at early stages has been obtained. 

---