Ultra accelerated mass spectrometry

C. Tuniz, Accelerator mass spectrometry ultra sensitive analysis for global science, Rad. Phys. Chem. 61, 317 322 (2001). 

Tuniz, C., Baird, J.R., Fink, D. Herzog, G.F. (1998) Accelerator Mass Spectrometry, Ultra Sensitive Analysis for Global Science. Boca Raton, FL CRC Press. 

Lappin, G. and Gamer, R.C., Ultra-sensitive detection of radiolabelled drugs and their metabolites using accelerator mass spectrometry, in Bioanalytical Separations Handbook of Analytical Separation, Wilson, I.D. (ed.), Vol. 4, Elsevier, Amsterdam, the Netherlands, 331, 2003. 

Priest, N. D., Pich, G. M., Fifield, L. K., and Cresswell, R. G. 1999. Accelerator mass spectrometry for the detection of ultra-low levels of plutonium in urine, including that excreted after the ingestion of Irish sea sediments. RadiatRes 152(6), S16-S18. 

In VoL 2 of this handbook, the origin of elements has been discussed in detail. Therefore, the present authors will exclude that part, except for some comments on the importance of particular radionucKdes. In this chapter, the principles and instrumentation of accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS), the key player for detection of cosmological radionucKdes in ultra trace scale, will be discussed in detail. Detailed discussion of all the research works carried out to date with cosmogenic radionuclides is out of scope. Only the detection of million-year half-life radionucKdes in ultra trace concentration will be touched, followed by concise description of the required chemistry. Rather than giving a general description, a few of them have been chosen and described in separate sections. Inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), thermal ionization mass spectrometry (TIMS), secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS), or resonant laser ionization mass spectrometer (RIMS), etc. have also been used for detection of cosmogenic radionucKdes. However, these techniques have much lower sensitivity compared to AMS. Brief discussions on these instruments have been appended at the end of this chapter. This chapter ends with a conclusion. 

Accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) is useful to measure extremely low-abundance nuclides (isotope ratio of 10 to 10 relative to its stable isotope), such as Be, C, A1, C1, " Ca, and I, in natural samples. Small amounts of C and T can be measured by AMS on mg size samples of carbon and iodine extracted from 500-ml seawater samples (Povinec et al. 2000). Neutron activation analysis (NAA), radiochemical neutron activation analysis (RNAA), and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) are useful for the determination of ultra-trace Th and U in geological and cosmochemical samples, and for determination of the concentration of Pu and Pu. Reference marine-biological samples are necessary to test the performance of the analytical methods employed in surveying and monitoring radioactive materials in the sea. An ocean shellfish composite material containing 0.1% w/w Irish Sea mussel, 12% w/w White Sea mussel, and 87.9% w/w Japan Sea oyster has been prepared as the NIST SRM 4358 (The National Institute of Standards and Technology, SRM) in the natural-matrix, environmental-level radioactive SRM series (Altzitzoglou 2000). This NIST SRM 4358 sample will be useful for the determination of the activity of K, Cs, Pb, Ra, Th, and Am. 

Plumb RS, Johnson KA, Rainville P, Shockcor JP, Williams R, Granger JH, Wilson ID (2006) The detection of phenotypic differences in the metabolic plasma profile of three strains of Zucker rats at 20 weeks of age using ultra-performance liquid chromatog-raphy/orthogonal acceleration time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Rapid Commun. Mass Spectrom. 2006 20 2800-2806. 

The second solution to increasing the throughput of pulsed ultrafiltration mass spectrometry has been to miniaturize the ultrafiltration chamber volume while maintaining the flow rate and chamber pressure. Because the ultrafiltration membrane cannot withstand high pressure without rupturing, the ultrafiltration process cannot be accelerated simply by increasing the flow rate through the chamber. The approach of Beverly et al. (72) was to fabricate a 35-/u,L ultra-... 

Litherland, A.E., Allen, K.W., Hall, E.T., eds. (1987) Ultra-High Sensitivity Mass Spectrometry with Accelerators. London The Royal Society. 

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