Isotooppimerkinnän

Isotooppimerkinnän, or isotopic labeling, is a technique used to track the path of specific atoms within a molecule or system. This is achieved by replacing one or more atoms in a molecule with their isotopes. Isotopes are atoms of the same element that have the same number of protons but a different number of neutrons, leading to different atomic masses. Commonly used isotopes for labeling include stable isotopes like deuterium (²H), carbon-13 (¹³C), nitrogen-15 (¹⁵N), and oxygen-18 (¹⁸O), as well as radioactive isotopes like tritium (³H) and carbon-14 (¹⁴C).

The labeled atoms are then followed through chemical reactions, metabolic pathways, or biological processes using various analytical techniques. For stable isotopes, techniques like mass spectrometry or nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy are employed to detect the altered mass or spectral signature of the labeled molecules. Radioactive isotopes can be detected using methods such as scintillation counting or autoradiography, which measure the emitted radiation. Isotooppimerkinnän is a versatile tool with applications in chemistry, biology, medicine, and environmental science, aiding in the elucidation of reaction mechanisms, drug metabolism, protein turnover, and nutrient cycling.