Acquisition of a scintillation counter

许多重要的生化问题都与理解RNA-RNA、rna -蛋白质、rna -金属和蛋白质-金属之间的相互作用有关。大多数这些相互作用需要检测微小（10-14到10-6摩尔）的材料量。然而，化学试验很少对小于10-7摩尔有反应。由于放射性示踪剂技术的发展，这种限制得到了缓解，通过这种技术，对放射性同位素标记物质的异常灵敏的检测，使对许多10-12摩尔或更小的物质的研究成为常规。此外，放射性的使用使得开发出强有力的实验方法来解决生物化学和分子生物学中的各种问题。这包括用于同时跟踪两种物质或用于区分在不同时间合成的两种相同物质的双重标签技术；在一种物质合成后的一段时间内不受同时合成的其他物质的干扰而跟踪该物质的脉冲追踪方法；还有用来衡量参与反应的交换分析，这里仅举几个例子。虽然这些技术有很大的不同，但它们都依赖于放射性示踪剂的精确探测，这是这些技术的基本组成部分。出于这个原因，至关重要的是，我们部门有机会获得一个高性能的闪烁计数器，这将使我们能够准备准确的放射性示踪剂。

Many important biochemical questions are related to understanding interactions between RNA-RNA, RNA-protein, RNA-metal, and protein-metal. Most of these interactions require the detection of tiny (10-14 to 10-6 mole) quantities of material. However, chemical tests are rarely responsive to less than  10-7 mole. This limitation has been alleviated by the development of radiotracer technology through which extraordinarily sensitive detection of radioisotopically labelled material has allowed studies of many substances in quantities of 10-12 mole and smaller to become routine. In addition, the use of radioactivity has permitted the development of powerful experimental approaches to various types of problems in biochemistry as well as molecular biology. This includes the double-labelling technique for following two substances simultaneously or for distinguishing two identical substances synthesized at different times; the pulse-chase method for following a substance at a time after its synthesis without interference of other material that is concurrently synthesized; and the exchange analysis for measuring participation in reactions, to name only a few examples. Although these techniques are quite different, they all depend on the precise detection of radiotracers, which are essential components of these techniques. For this reason, it is crucial that our department has access to a high performance scintillation counter that will allow us to prepare accurate radiotracers.