Incorporating tracer-tracee differences into models to improve accuracy.

The ideal tracer for metabolic studies is one that behaves exactly like the tracee. Compounds labeled with isotopes come the closest to this ideal because they are chemically identical to the tracee except for the substitution of a stable or radioisotope at one or more positions. Even this substitution, however, can introduce a difference in metabolism that may be quantitatively important with regard to the development of the mathematical model used to interpret the kinetic data. The doubly labeled water method for the measurement of carbon dioxide production and hence energy expenditure in free-living subjects is a good example of how differences between the metabolism of the tracers and the tracee can influence the accuracy of the carbon dioxide production rate determined from the kinetic data.