Uses of radioisotopes by Melanie Stell https://padlet.com/mstell/radioisotopes IB Chemistry Topic 2 Atomic Theory en-us 2018-11-15 07:45:59 UTC 2026-02-28 00:49:24 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/icons/Soccerball.png Instructions mstell https://padlet.com/mstell/radioisotopes/wish/304672723 You will have been assigned a topic related to a specific use of radioisotopes.  Do some research and include information about the following on a post on this wall:
1.  Describe the use.
2.  What radioisotopes are used and why.
3.  Advantages of this use and dangers.
4. Include diagrams, link to useful website, a good short video.]]> 2018-11-15 07:53:36 UTC https://padlet.com/mstell/radioisotopes/wish/304672723 diagnosing illness https://padlet.com/mstell/radioisotopes/wish/304692327
  • to diagnose illnesses we use x-rays that are are used to scan the body (eg. bones, kidneys...) this is because some natural elements in the the injection of radioactive elements tend to concentrate in certain parts of the body, iodine in the thyroid, phosphorus in the bones, potassium in the muscles.
  • radioisotopes used to diagnose illnesses must emit gamma rays of sufficient energy to escape from the body and must be able to decay in a short amount of time, this is why the most commonly used  radioisotope is technetium-99.
  • benefits and problems of radioisotopes. ( PROS: Diagnosis/tracing and treatment of medical illnesses, medical sterilisation – prevents patient infection, CONS: Require nuclear reactors for production, can cause damage to healthy tissue and health problems, including cancer, if not used or stored safely, Radioactive waste requires disposal)

    • ]]>     2018-11-15 09:15:11 UTC https://padlet.com/mstell/radioisotopes/wish/304692327     Tracer in Pharmaceutical Research https://padlet.com/mstell/radioisotopes/wish/304692402 Radioactive tracer -> radioactive substance added to a drug, so when it decays one can trace the drug's pathway in the body. 
    Radiopharmacists attach radioisotopes to biologically active substances 
    They are incorporated into the normal biological processes and excreted.
    Radioisotope used -> gamma rays with sufficient energy to escape from the body
    -> must have a half-life short enough for it to decay away soon after imaging is completed
    Most widely used isotope -> Tc-99
    • half-life of six hours 
    • decays by isomeric process (emission of gamma rays and low energy electrons)
    • no high-energy beta emission (radiation dose to the patient = low)
    • low-energy gamma rays; easily escape human body; accurately detected by a gamma camera.
    • chemistry of technetium is versatile (can be incorporated in a range of biologically-active substances that ensure it concentrates in the tissue or organ of interest)
    ]]>     2018-11-15 09:15:27 UTC https://padlet.com/mstell/radioisotopes/wish/304692402     Treating Illness https://padlet.com/mstell/radioisotopes/wish/304692584 Radiotherapy can be used to cure some medical conditions.
    CANCER= radiation is used to weaken or destroy particular targeted cells.
    THYROID= measured dose of  131I/ Technetium-99  is given to patient, next day scanner is used to measure the amount of radioactivity in thyroid gland. the amount of radioactive iodine coleccted is directly proportional to the activity of the thyroid= physicians can diagnose both hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism.
    Another use of radioisotopes is for the sterilisation of medical equipment.
    Types of radioisotopes used to treat illness:
    32P = cancer detection+treatment (eye and skin especially)
    99mTc=  brain, liver, bone marrow, lung: blood volume determination
    other:  odine-131, samarium-153, and phosphorus-32
    Beta radiation is the cause of the destruction of damaged cells. (radiotherapy, radionuclide)
     An ideal therapeutic radioisotope is a strong beta emitter with just enough gamma to enable imaging (e.g. lutetium-177 ) 
    Benefits= detailed and accurate, offers additional treatment plans, earlier detection
    Disadvantages=high costs, does not offer a 100% garantuee, can cause health risks.]]>     2018-11-15 09:16:12 UTC https://padlet.com/mstell/radioisotopes/wish/304692584     CHEMICAL CLOCK IN GEOLOGICAL DATING https://padlet.com/mstell/radioisotopes/wish/304692595 Geological dating is the method of determining the age of Earth materials or objects of organic origin based on measurement of either short lived radioactive elements or the amount of a long lived radioactive element plus its decay product.

    Uranium-235 & Lead-207      used for dating of sediments from either a marine or a playa lake environment.
    Rubidium-87 & Strontium-87 determine the age of rocks and minerals from the quantities they contain of specific isotopes Rb and St.
    Potassium-40 & Argon-40
    measures the decay of radioactive potassium to radioactive argon. 



    ]]>     2018-11-15 09:16:14 UTC https://padlet.com/mstell/radioisotopes/wish/304692595     Tracer in biochemical research https://padlet.com/mstell/radioisotopes/wish/304692686 Biochemistry: relates to the chemical processes and substances which occur within living things.
    Tracer: A radioactive tracer is a radioactive element or compound added to material to monitor the material's distribution as it progresses through a system.
    The use of the tracer in biochemistry: developed by inorganic chemist Georg de Hevesey in 1935, can be used to trace substances in a natural system. Examples: distribution of a substance in an ecosystem, determine the location of fractures in natural gas production or even radiocarbon dating with carbon-14.
    Radioisotopes used: 
    • phosphorus-32: uptake by plants, used in fertilizers to measure the rate at which radioactivity appears in leaves.
    • chlorine-36: used in pesticides to determine the accumulation of it in the soil
    • iodine-131: used in medical tracers, most will end up in thyroid gland
    • carbon-11, nitrogen-13,oxygen-15,fluorine-18: track blood flow.
    Advantages:
    -Non-Invasive: detailed images with out surgeries on organisms
    -Specific: these compounds can be used for biological processes, tissues and ecosystems.
    Dangers:
    -Toxicity: possibly toxic to certain organisms when being released in a ecosystem leading to possible mutations.


    ]]>     2018-11-15 09:16:32 UTC https://padlet.com/mstell/radioisotopes/wish/304692686     Chemical clock in archeological dating https://padlet.com/mstell/radioisotopes/wish/304692969 Chronological dating, is the process of attributing to an object or event a date in the past, allowing such object or event to be located in a previously established chronology. There are two main categories of dating methods in archeology: indirect or relative dating and absolute dating.
    Radiocarbon dating is also simply called Carbon-14 dating. Carbon-14 is a radioactive isotope of carbon, with a half-life of 5,730 years, (which is very short compared with the above isotopes) and decays into nitrogen. They use it because carbon-14 is naturally absorbed by living things. When organisms die, the carbon naturally breaks down and reduces. Scientists measure the amount of carbon-14 in the organisms and calculate the age.]]>     2018-11-15 09:17:40 UTC https://padlet.com/mstell/radioisotopes/wish/304692969