Use of isotope effects to determine enzyme mechanisms

Deuterium- and Tritium-Labelled Compounds: Applications in the Life Sciences

Hydrogen isotopes are unique tools for identifying and understanding biological and chemical processes. Hydrogen isotope labelling allows for the traceless and direct incorporation of an additional mass or radioactive tag into an organic molecule with almost no changes in its chemical structure, physical properties, or biological activity. Using deuterium-labelled isotopologues to study the unique mass-spectrometric patterns generated from mixtures of biologically relevant molecules drastically simplifies analysis. Such methods are now providing unprecedented levels of insight in a wide and continuously growing range of applications in the life sciences and beyond. Tritium (³ H), in particular, has seen an increase in utilization, especially in pharmaceutical drug discovery. The efforts and costs associated with the synthesis of labelled compounds are more than compensated for by the enhanced molecular sensitivity during analysis and the high reliability of the data obtained. In this Review, advances in the application of hydrogen isotopes in the life sciences are described.

Controlled synthesis of radiolabelled amine methacrylate water-soluble polymers with end-groups of varying hydrophobicity and studies of adsorption behaviour

Radioactive initiators of increasing hydrophobicity, including fluorescent initiators, have been used to conduct the ambient ATRP of poly(2-(diethylamino)ethyl methacrylate) and the behaviour of the resultant polymers has been monitored with respect to surface adsorption using radio-techniques; considerable effects of end group type were observed.