Radioactive tracer

Radioactive tracer

A radioactive tracer, also called a radioactive label, is a substance containing a radioisotope(which is an isotope that has an unstable nucleus and that stabalizes itself by spontaneously emitting energy and particles). Tracers can be used to measure the speed of chemical processes and to track the movement of a substance through a natural system such as a cell or a tissue. [cite journal |author=Rennie M |title=An introduction to the use of tracers in nutrition and metabolism |journal=Proc Nutr Soc |volume=58 |issue=4 |pages=935–44 |year=1999 |pmid=10817161 |doi=10.1017/S002966519900124X] Radioactive tracing was developed by George de Hevesy.

In medicine tracers are applied in autoradiography and nuclear medicine, including single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), positron emission tomography (PET) and scintigraphy.

References


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