title: A method for quantitative determination of deuterium content in biological material.
abstract: A method was developed for quantitative determination of deuterium incorporated into live organisms or biological macromolecules. The deuterated biological material was mixed with a bovine serum albumin (BSA) supporter to make a homogeneous sample for which the deltaD value (vs. VSMOW) was analyzed using a dual-inlet gas isotope mass spectrometer. The method is described in detail, and the equation for calculation of deuterium content is presented, i.e., CbioD=1/500 x k x RVSMOW x CBSAH x 10(6) ppm. Deuterated hepatitis A virus (HAV) RNA and BSA were systematically investigated. The results demonstrate that the method is capable of direct measurement of deuterium content, and is highly repeatable and reliable with a standard deviation of +/-3 per thousand. It is stressed that the quantity of deuterated sample required is extremely small as a result of using BSA as supporter. The method may be applied in many fields, and has the strengths of simplicity, relative cheapness, and robustness.
authors.affiliation: Zhejiang Academy Medical Sciences, Hangzhou 310013, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Yihui
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: He
authors.forename: Caihua
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: Jiangsen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mao
authors.forename: Ziyang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Weixing
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Zi'an
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Mao
mesh_terms: D001704:Biopolymers / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry*; D003903:Deuterium / Q000032:analysis*; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry / Q000379:methods*; D008832:Microchemistry / Q000379:methods*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012710:Serum Albumin, Bovine / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D001704:Biopolymers; D012710:Serum Albumin, Bovine; D003903:Deuterium