Radioisotope induced X-ray emission (RIXE) studies in life sciences.

The inherent advantages of radioisotope induced X-ray emission (RIXE) are briefly presented, with emphasis on their applications to analysis in the life sciences. The following selected applications by RIXE are discussed in general: (1) In vivo analysis: the determination of stable iodine in the thyroid and heavy metals in human bone; (2) the analysis of small tissue samples (about 10 mg) for the simultaneous determination of trace elements between 25 less than or equal to Z less than or equal to 40; data are given from a time study of the disease progress of Lewis lung tumor on a rat's liver over a 24-d period; and (3) a homogeneity study of iron, strontium, and zirconium in IAEA's SL-3 Lake sediment standard reference material is presented.