More Facts on Isotope and Stable Isotope Labeling

“Isotope” - this is nothing foreign to you as your first encounter with it may be traced back to
middle school in chemistry classes. But do you know it has multiple applications nowadays either
in research or medical areas? In a sense, they serve as a trace marker and hence a great helper for
scientists in carrying out a large number of researches and experiments.

Basic facts about isotopes

Here are several facts about isotopes that you should know:
1) Isotopes are variants of a particular chemical element which differ in neutron number.
2) All isotopes of a given element have the same number of protons in each atom.
3) Every chemical element has one or more isotopes; yet, only a small fraction are indefinitely
stable by its nature. Most are radioactive isotopes.
4) So far, more than 1,000 radioactive isotopes in total are known. But the majority of them are
artificially produced as byproducts of nuclear reactions; only 50 or so are found in nature.

What is isotope and radioactive isotope?

Isotope, as its name suggests, refers to atom of a chemical element with the same atomic number
and same position in the periodic table. Isotopes are nearly identical in terms of chemical behavior
but different with regard to atomic masses and physical properties.

Furthermore, radioactive isotope is a chemical element with different mass whose nuclei is
unstable and dissipates excess energy by spontaneously emitting radiation in the form of alpha or
beta rays.

Applications of stable isotopes

First, stable isotopes could be used in environmental industry as intrinsic tracers to follow the
movement of water using dyes. Far more than that, isotope analysis can provide a powerful tool
for tackling many issues concerning environmental pollution. Second, multi-element isotopes can
also be employed in the food and drink industry in order to ensure what we eat are of premium
quality and of reliable origin.

Applications of radioactive isotopes

Likewise, radioactive isotopes also have many useful applications. Many of them are used as tracers
in research on metabolic processes or for diagnostic purposes. For instance, isotope cobalt-60 is
extensively employed as a radiation source to arrest the development of cancer; another isotope,
Iodine-131, proves to be effective in treating hyperthyroidism. Carbon-14 is of great significance in
the medical field, serving in a breath test to detect the ulcer-causing bacteria Heliobacter pylori. In
addition, isotopes, unusual isotopes in particular, are more commonly used as tracers or markers
in chemical reactions.

Author Bio
BOC Sciences is a professional chemical supplier, providing over 300,000 chemicals covering
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