title: Carbon determination in human teeth by activation with He-3 ions.
abstract: A nuclear analytical method, involving activation with 3He ions, was developed to determine carbon content in human teeth with well-documented histories. The tooth samples were irradiated with 2.7-MeV3He particles at 50 nA intensity, and the activity of 14O induced through the reaction 12C(3He, n)14O, determined by counting the 2.31-MeV gammas. Different dental hard tissues were studied separately. A solid piece of silver steel, the carbon content of which was accurately determined by chemical means, was used as the standard. The carbon content in different teeth varied from 4-7%. The overall experimental accuracy was better than 4.5%.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Physics, Austin Hospital, Melbourne, Australia.
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Chaudhri
authors.forename: A C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Crawford
mesh_terms: D000201:Activation Analysis / Q000379:methods*; D000293:Adolescent; D002244:Carbon / Q000032:analysis* / Q000592:standards; D002648:Child; D006371:Helium; D006801:Humans; D007554:Isotopes; D012015:Reference Standards; D014070:Tooth / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D007554:Isotopes; D006371:Helium; D002244:Carbon