Atom: Atom is a basic unit of matter that consists of a central nucleus

surrounded by a negatively charged electrons.

mass number = protons + neutrons

• Hydrogen-1 has 1 proton and 0 neutrons (Mass Number = 1)
• Hydrogen-2 has 1 proton and 1 neutron (Mass Number = 2)
• Helium - 4 has 2 protons and 2 neutrons (Mass Number = 4)

Atomic number = protons

𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 23
𝑋𝑎𝑡𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑐 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑁𝑎11 𝐶612

Isotopes:
atoms that have the same number of protons but have different
numbers of neutrons and they are either: -
❖ Stable
❖ Radioactive

Stable isotopes:
1 2 3 4 6
1𝐻 1𝐻 1𝐻 1𝐻 3𝐿𝑖
7 9 9 11 12
3𝐿𝑖 4𝐵 4𝐵 4𝐵 4𝐵
12 13 14 14 16 17
6𝐶 6𝐶 7𝑁 7𝑁 8𝑂 8𝑂

Biomedical importance of isotopes

Chromium-51: Used to label red blood cells and quantify gastro-
intestinal protein loss.
Cobalt-60: radiotherapy, now used more for sterilizing.
Iodine-125: Used in cancer (prostate and brain), also
diagnostically to evaluate the filtration rate of kidneys. It is also
widely used in radioimmune assays to show the presence of
hormones in tiny quantities.
Iodine-131: Widely used in treating thyroid cancer.
Atomic mass: The atomic mass of a specific isotope is the total mass of
protons, neutrons, and electrons in a single atom
Atomic components: protons, neutrons electrons
 Radioisotope Half-life

Polonium-215 0.0018 seconds

Bismuth-212 60.5 seconds

Sodium-24 15 hours

Iodine-131 8.07 days

Cobalt-60 5.26 years

Radium-226 1600 years

Uranium-238 4.5 billion years

Units of radioactivity
The original unit for measuring the amount of radioactivity was the
curie (Ci)–defined to correspond to one gram of radium-226
OR
1 curie = 3.7x1010 radioactive decays per second.
In the International System of Units (SI) the curie has been replaced by
the becquerel (Bq), where
1 𝑏𝑒𝑐𝑞𝑢𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑙 = 1 𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑜𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑑𝑒𝑐𝑎𝑦 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑 =
2.703𝑥10−11 𝐶𝑖.

Diagnostic techniques in nuclear medicine

Diagnostic techniques in nuclear medicine use radioactive tracers which
emit gamma rays from within the body. These tracers are generally
short-lived isotopes linked to chemical compounds which permit
specific physiological processes ,can be given by injection, inhalation or
orally. The first type are where single photons are detected by a gamma
camera.

Biochemical Analysis:
It is very easy to detect the presence or absence of some radioactive
materials even when they exist in very low concentrations.
Radioisotopes can therefore be used to label molecules of biological
samples in vitro (out of the body). Pathologists have devised hundreds
of tests to determine the constituents of blood, serum, urine, hormones,
antigens and many drugs by means of associated radioisotopes. These
procedures are known as radioimmuno-assays.