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By the end of this section, you will be able to:
  • List common applications of radioactive isotopes

Radioactive isotopes have the same chemical properties as stable isotopes of the same element, but they emit radiation, which can be detected. If we replace one (or more) atom(s) with radioisotope(s) in a compound, we can track them by monitoring their radioactive emissions. This type of compound is called a radioactive tracer    (or radioactive label ). Radioisotopes are used to follow the paths of biochemical reactions or to determine how a substance is distributed within an organism. Radioactive tracers are also used in many medical applications, including both diagnosis and treatment. They are used to measure engine wear, analyze the geological formation around oil wells, and much more.

Radioisotopes have revolutionized medical practice (see Appendix M ), where they are used extensively. Over 10 million nuclear medicine procedures and more than 100 million nuclear medicine tests are performed annually in the United States. Four typical examples of radioactive tracers used in medicine are technetium-99 ( 43 99 Tc ) , thallium-201 ( 81 201 Tl ) , iodine-131 ( 53 131 I ) , and sodium-24 ( 11 24 Na ) . Damaged tissues in the heart, liver, and lungs absorb certain compounds of technetium-99 preferentially. After it is injected, the location of the technetium compound, and hence the damaged tissue, can be determined by detecting the γ rays emitted by the Tc-99 isotope. Thallium-201 ( [link] ) becomes concentrated in healthy heart tissue, so the two isotopes, Tc-99 and Tl-201, are used together to study heart tissue. Iodine-131 concentrates in the thyroid gland, the liver, and some parts of the brain. It can therefore be used to monitor goiter and treat thyroid conditions, such as Grave’s disease, as well as liver and brain tumors. Salt solutions containing compounds of sodium-24 are injected into the bloodstream to help locate obstructions to the flow of blood.

A photo is shown of two men, one walking on a treadmill with various wires connected to his torso region, and the other collecting blood pressure data from the first man.
Administering thallium-201 to a patient and subsequently performing a stress test offer medical professionals an opportunity to visually analyze heart function and blood flow. (credit: modification of work by “Blue0ctane”/Wikimedia Commons)

Radioisotopes used in medicine typically have short half-lives—for example, the ubiquitous Tc-99m has a half-life of 6.01 hours. This makes Tc-99m essentially impossible to store and prohibitively expensive to transport, so it is made on-site instead. Hospitals and other medical facilities use Mo-99 (which is primarily extracted from U-235 fission products) to generate Tc-99. Mo-99 undergoes β decay with a half-life of 66 hours, and the Tc-99 is then chemically extracted ( [link] ). The parent nuclide Mo-99 is part of a molybdate ion, MoO 4 2− ; when it decays, it forms the pertechnetate ion, TcO 4 . These two water-soluble ions are separated by column chromatography, with the higher charge molybdate ion adsorbing onto the alumina in the column, and the lower charge pertechnetate ion passing through the column in the solution. A few micrograms of Mo-99 can produce enough Tc-99 to perform as many as 10,000 tests.

Questions & Answers

what is chemistry
Terhemba Reply
what is the difference between ph and poh?
Abagaro Reply
chemical bond that results from the attractive force between shared electrons and nonmetals nucleus is what?
Abagaro
what is chemistry
Ayok
what is chemistry
ISIYAKA Reply
what is oxidation
Chidiebube Reply
calculate molarity of NaOH solution when 25.0ml of NaOH titrated with 27.2ml of 0.2m H2SO4
Gasin Reply
what's Thermochemistry
rhoda Reply
the study of the heat energy which is associated with chemical reactions
Kaddija
How was CH4 and o2 was able to produce (Co2)and (H2o
Edafe Reply
explain please
Victory
First twenty elements with their valences
Martine Reply
what is chemistry
asue Reply
what is atom
asue
what is the best way to define periodic table for jamb
Damilola Reply
what is the change of matter from one state to another
Elijah Reply
what is isolation of organic compounds
IKyernum Reply
what is atomic radius
ThankGod Reply
Read Chapter 6, section 5
Dr
Read Chapter 6, section 5
Kareem
Atomic radius is the radius of the atom and is also called the orbital radius
Kareem
atomic radius is the distance between the nucleus of an atom and its valence shell
Amos
Read Chapter 6, section 5
paulino
Bohr's model of the theory atom
Ayom Reply
is there a question?
Dr
when a gas is compressed why it becomes hot?
ATOMIC
It has no oxygen then
Goldyei
read the chapter on thermochemistry...the sections on "PV" work and the First Law of Thermodynamics should help..
Dr
Which element react with water
Mukthar Reply
Mgo
Ibeh
Practice Key Terms 5

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Source:  OpenStax, Chemistry. OpenStax CNX. May 20, 2015 Download for free at http://legacy.cnx.org/content/col11760/1.9
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