Radioisotopes, Biology

Assignment Help:

Radioisotopes

Radioisotopes are those forms of an element which exhibit rzdioactivity and so can be used as markers or tracers. For this purpose, we first introduce the radioisotope in a molecule in the cell and then detect the radioactivity with the help of certain device. For example, if we replace a suitable hydrogen atom of thymidine by 3H, we may trace the course of thymidine in the cell. Since thymidine is a component of DNA but not of RNA, we can be sure that we are following only DNA metabolism. Similarly, to know the course of protein synthesis we may use radioactively labelled amino acids.

Radioisotopes are used to:

(a) measure the rates of metabolic turnover of a material within a cell or tissue,

(b) locate the site of synthesis of molecules,

(c) measure the rate of exchange of materials across cellular membranes,

(d) locate a molecule in a cell. Radioisotopes are widely applied to study also the precursor-product relathship.

Many times when a radioactively labelled mokcule (pncursor) is introduced into a system. The molecule is chemically converted into another form (product). For example, when radioactive iron is introduced in blood, radioactivity can be detected in liver femtin and haemoglobin of red blood cells. Similarly, radioactivity of 32P- labelled phosphate can be detected in many phospholipids.


Related Discussions:- Radioisotopes

Evaluate the magnitude of st depression, Q. Evaluate the Magnitude of ST De...

Q. Evaluate the Magnitude of ST Depression? It is intuitive that the magnitude of ST depression should correlate with the degree of the ischaemia. In patients with left main or

Factors affecting water requirements of microorganisms, Q. Factors Affectin...

Q. Factors Affecting Water requirements of microorganisms? Factors that may affect aw requirements of microorganisms include: 1. Kind of solute employed to reduce the aw: F

Mirco, what is wrong with pasteurs conclusion

what is wrong with pasteurs conclusion

Define rheology and syneresis, Define Rheology and syneresis Rheology:...

Define Rheology and syneresis Rheology:   the science of the deformation and flow of matter. It is the branch of physics concerned with the flow and change of shape of matter,

What are organic chemical groups that divide carbohydrates, What are the or...

What are the organic chemical groups that characterize carbohydrates? How are carbohydrates classified according to the presence of those groups? Carbohydrates are also called

How sex chromosomes of the xy system -sex determination, Concerning the sex...

Concerning the sex chromosomes of the XY system which type of gamete do the male and the female individuals respectively produce? An Individual of the female sex is XX and thus

Determine the size and organization of chromosome, Some relatively simple e...

Some relatively simple eukaryotes, like the adder's tongue fern, may have many more chromosomes than a more complex eukaryote, like a mammal. What might this suggest about the size

Bioenergetics, role of bioenergetics in our body

role of bioenergetics in our body

Explain epitope, Epitope: As related to the protein antigens, B-cell epito...

Epitope: As related to the protein antigens, B-cell epitopes comprises the amino acid residues of the protein molecule in which interact directly through the noncovalent bonds wit

Why plants need to do exchange gases with the environment, Why plants need ...

Why plants need to do exchange gases with the environment? The Plants need to do gas exchange because they create aerobic cellular respiration (like animals) and they need to r

Write Your Message!

Captcha
Free Assignment Quote

Assured A++ Grade

Get guaranteed satisfaction & time on delivery in every assignment order you paid with us! We ensure premium quality solution document along with free turntin report!

All rights reserved! Copyrights ©2019-2020 ExpertsMind IT Educational Pvt Ltd