ISSN:
1618-2650
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Chemistry and Pharmacology
Notes:
Abstract A pilot project was initiated to study the feasibility of preparing milk as a candidate reference material for 14C near environmental levels. Two materials, MK-B at natural level of 14C and MK-C4 at an elevated level, have been prepared from pasteurized 2% dairy milk. MK-C4 was spiked with an appropriate amount of 14C-methylated casein tracer to achieve the elevated level. Several samples from MK-B and MK-C4 have been analyzed to test the homogeneity of these materials for the distribution of 14C. The samples were combusted in oxygen under 20 atmospheres pressure using a Parr bomb. The 14C concentrations were determined by liquid scintillation counting using Carbo-Sorb/Permafluor E+ cocktail. The results indicate that these materials are homogeneous with respect to 14C concentration even in sub-sample sizes of 0.25 g of the freeze-dried material. The precision of our 14C measurements, as expressed by the % relative standard deviation, is within 5%. The accuracy has been tested by analyzing replicate samples of the IAEA 14C quality assurance materials, C-3 (cellulose) and C-6 (ANU sucrose) and found to be within 3%. The lower limits of detection are 0.08, 0.05 and 0.02 Bq.g−1 of carbon for 20 ml of liquid scintillation mixture (Carbo-Sorb/Permafluor E+ = ∼0.67) loaded with up to 0.4 g of carbon from the sample and counted for 3 cycles of 60, 180 and 1000 min each, respectively. Our measurements of 14C specific activities of MK-B and MK-C4 are 0.26±0.01 and 15.3±0.4 Bq.g−1 of carbon, respectively.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00322313
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