Radiocarbon Tracers in Toxicology and Medicine: Recent Advances in Technology and Science
Michael A. Malfatti,
Bruce A. Buchholz,
Heather A. Enright,
Benjamin J. Stewart,
Ted J. Ognibene,
A. Daniel McCartt,
Gabriela G. Loots,
Maike Zimmermann,
Tiffany M. Scharadin,
George D. Cimino,
Brian A. Jonas,
Chong-Xian Pan,
Graham Bench,
Paul T. Henderson,
Kenneth W. Turteltaub
Affiliations
Michael A. Malfatti
Biosciences and Biotechnology Division, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA 94550, USA
Bruce A. Buchholz
Center for Accelerator Mass Spectrometry, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA 94550, USA
Heather A. Enright
Biosciences and Biotechnology Division, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA 94550, USA
Benjamin J. Stewart
Biosciences and Biotechnology Division, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA 94550, USA
Ted J. Ognibene
Center for Accelerator Mass Spectrometry, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA 94550, USA
A. Daniel McCartt
Center for Accelerator Mass Spectrometry, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA 94550, USA
Gabriela G. Loots
Biosciences and Biotechnology Division, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA 94550, USA
Maike Zimmermann
Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Hematology and Oncology and UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California Davis Medical School, Sacramento, CA 95817, USA
Tiffany M. Scharadin
Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Hematology and Oncology and UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California Davis Medical School, Sacramento, CA 95817, USA
George D. Cimino
Accelerated Medical Diagnostics Incorporated, Berkeley, CA 94708, USA
Brian A. Jonas
Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Hematology and Oncology and UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California Davis Medical School, Sacramento, CA 95817, USA
Chong-Xian Pan
Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Hematology and Oncology and UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California Davis Medical School, Sacramento, CA 95817, USA
Graham Bench
Center for Accelerator Mass Spectrometry, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA 94550, USA
Paul T. Henderson
Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Hematology and Oncology and UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California Davis Medical School, Sacramento, CA 95817, USA
Kenneth W. Turteltaub
Biosciences and Biotechnology Division, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA 94550, USA
This review summarizes recent developments in radiocarbon tracer technology and applications. Technologies covered include accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS), including conversion of samples to graphite, and rapid combustion to carbon dioxide to enable direct liquid sample analysis, coupling to HPLC for real-time AMS analysis, and combined molecular mass spectrometry and AMS for analyte identification and quantitation. Laser-based alternatives, such as cavity ring down spectrometry, are emerging to enable lower cost, higher throughput measurements of biological samples. Applications covered include radiocarbon dating, use of environmental atomic bomb pulse radiocarbon content for cell and protein age determination and turnover studies, and carbon source identification. Low dose toxicology applications reviewed include studies of naphthalene-DNA adduct formation, benzo[a]pyrene pharmacokinetics in humans, and triclocarban exposure and risk assessment. Cancer-related studies covered include the use of radiocarbon-labeled cells for better defining mechanisms of metastasis and the use of drug-DNA adducts as predictive biomarkers of response to chemotherapy.
