Potential chemical and physical interactions:

Potential chemical and physical interactions of the tracer with the system under study should also be a matter of consideration. Attention must also be paid to the possible interactions of the other components of the tracer solution with the system because not all the isotopes can be obtained in radiochemically pure form with high specific activity. Generally radiotracers are available as chloride or nitrate salt solution though sometimes sulphate or phosphate salt solutions are also available. Chemical form of radiotracer depends on the separation procedure adopted.

Some other practical considerations are easy availability within the country and the cost of the desired tracer, the accessibility of the appropriate detector system, and the availability of laboratory certification and counting equipments. GM counter is the most easily available in a laboratory though NaI (Tl) based scintillation counter is also available quite easily. Same, fume hood requirements may also restrict the use of an isotope as tracer.

Besides analytical applications, radiotracers have been used for a variety of investigations such as leak detection, situation of blockages within industrial systems, wear studies of machine tools and engine components, oil well tracer logging, ground water studies, silt movement in the sea bed, thickness gauge in steel rolling mills etc. Thus now day's radiotracers are finding increasing applications in medical diagnosis and agriculture.