C-14 AMS QUANTIFICATION OF BIOMOLECULAR INTERACTIONS USING MICROBORE AND PLATE SEPARATIONS

AMS directly counts radioisotopes without interference from molecular isobars. No chemical or physical information other than a bulk isotope ratio is available from the usual AMS instrument. Chemical or biological significance of the isotope ratio depends on the definition of the sample prior to conversion to material used in the AMS ion source. We use AMS as a detector for microbore and plate-based separation techniques in quantifying the binding of C-14-labeled compounds to specific DNA and protein fragments. We discuss our methods of using these microbore and plate separations of biomolecules while controlling contamination from C-14 in laboratory equipment and give examples.