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Preface This book's creation was triggered by our symposium entitled Radioanalytical Methods at the Frontier of Interdisciplinary Science, which was held at the 223 National Meeting of the American Chemical Society on April 8-10, 2002 in Orlando, Florida. The symposium's goal was to bring together scientists whose diverse research interests in one way or another rely on and probe the limits of radioanalytical chemistry. This volume based on the Orlando symposium carries the same philosophical objective, but goes beyond the symposium's scope with the inclusion of a basic introduction to radiochemistry, its history and its principles, and a siren's call for advancing radioanalytical and radiochemical education to meet the future (and present) needs of the scientific community for trained radiochemists. With these additions, it is our intention that this volume will serve a novice in the field of radioanalytical methods as a text or valuable reference book while exploring the possible applications of radioanalytical techniques to solving new problems. We hope that this volume will encourage our colleagues (the practicing radiochemist, nuclear scientist, and medical radiation research professional) to expand their horizons by considering how other experts have employed the various existing techniques (and have sought to develop new ones). B y combining this diverse collection of investigations in a single location, we hope to stimulate more interdisciplinary interactions. From the first accidental detection of radioactivity (Becquerel's observation of film exposure in the dark), radioanalytical methods have been at the center of the 20 century's expansion of the periodic table from about 90 known elements in the 1890s to the more than 2500 isotopes that are known today. Though radioanalytical chemistry has been practiced for more than a century, recent decades have seen continued improvements in detection methods, separations procedures to single out the radioactive analyte of interest, and the application of radioanalytical science to thoroughly modern problems needing modern solutions. Sadly, most scientists, who do not deal with radioanalytical chemistry on a day-to-day basis, are in the main unaware of the fantastic advancements the field has made and the opportunities the field offers. rd
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Laue and Nash; Radioanalytical Methods in Interdisciplinary Research ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2003.
Downloaded by 80.82.77.83 on January 10, 2018 | http://pubs.acs.org Publication Date: November 4, 2003 | doi: 10.1021/bk-2004-0868.pr001
In recent years radioanalytical methods have been applied in perhaps not so obvious fields as tumor targeting in cancer treatment, tracking the origins of Alzheimer's disease, or in the support of the criminal justice system. The chapters in the interdisciplinary applications section of this book highlight some of these applications. Most notable is a contribution on the fate of tritium in the rubble of the destroyed World Trade Center (WTC) buildings. Though elevated tritium was observed in only a few WTC water samples, the tritium that was found most likely originated in such ordinary items as the emergency exit signs that are found in many buildings around the world, emphasizing that radioactivity (and radioactive materials) represent an integral (and often invisible) part of our daily lives. Medical and material sciences also frequently apply radioanalytical methods and contribute to the advancement of those methods, as seen in the contribution on neutron activation analysis and others. Separations sciences have been a driver in advancing radioanalytical methods from the earliest days of this science. This role continues today in two particular areas: first in the development of new, easier to handle, and more reliable separation procedures, including the design of new separation reagents; and secondly in pushing for lower and lower detection limits in radiation measurement technologies. Both of those aspects are well demonstrated by various contributions to this book. We believe we have created a quite unique volume that is both less and more than a textbook. In a sense, we have incorporated the entire history of radioanalytical chemistry herein ranging from the origins of radioanalytical chemistry to some of the most recent developments in the field. We believe that practicing radiochemists and other scientist involved in nuclear sciences, radio pharmaceutical and radiation-medical research, students (or prospective stu dents), and even the casual reader will find something of interest here.
Carola A Laue
Kenneth L Nash
Nuclear & Radiochemist/Research Staff C&MS Enivronmental Services Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory 7000 East Ave, L-231 Livermore, CA 94550 Phone (925) 422-3192 Fax (925) 422-3160 Email
[email protected]ν
Chemist/Group Leader Chemistry Division Argonne National Laboratory 9700 S. Cass Avenue Argonne, Illinois 60439-4831 (630) 252-3581 (630)252-7501
[email protected] xii Laue and Nash; Radioanalytical Methods in Interdisciplinary Research ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2003.
