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DETECTION TECHNOLOGIES

Return to Story: A new tracer technology for therapeutic cell tracking

NIT offers several distinctive properties that improve on radioactive and optical tracer technologies and afford life scientists greater diagnostic flexibility. They include the following.

• Multiple metallic labels allow many different probes to be measured simultaneously in a single sample.

• Stable-isotope labels are nonradioactive until exposed to the neutron beam.

• Neutrons are highly penetrating, so opaque samples may be assayed.

• Metallic labels allow long-term sample storage and also shipping at room temperature.

• Neutrons are nondestructive, so samples can be reassayed for data confirmation or at an increased assay level of sensitivity.

• Assay sensitivity can be increased by lengthening the neutron beam exposure time or neutron beam strength.