Delux Industrial Gases

Terbium Isotopes Tb, also known as Terbium, is used in a variety of applications. Terbium is used extensively in organic chemistry in order to study chemical reactions. 

Both Lutetium Isotopes are generally considered to be stable, although strictly speaking Lu-176 is not entirely stable with a half-life of 3.78 x 1010 years. Lu-175 can be used as a yield tracer in the ICP-MS based determination of Pu in urine. Lu-176 is used for the production of radioactive Lu-177 which is a very promising radio-immunotherapy isotope for the treatment of small, soft tumors.

Ytterbium has seven stable isotopes and two of them are used for medical and industrial purposes. Yb-168 is used for the production of Yb-169 and this radioisotope is used as a radiation source in gamma cameras. Yb-169 is also used in the medical field where it has been proposed as an alternative for I-125 and Pd-103 in the treatment of prostate cancer while it is also used for diagnostics in the gastrointestinal tract. Yb-176 can be used as a target for the production of carrier-free Lu-177 with a high specific activity. Yb-171 in an excited state has been proposed as an optical frequency standard, while the other Yb isotopes are used in various physics experiments.

Ytterbium has seven stable isotopes and two of them are used for medical and industrial purposes. Yb-168 is used for the production of Yb-169 and this radioisotope is used as a radiation source in gamma cameras. Yb-169 is also used in the medical field where it has been proposed as an alternative for I-125 and Pd-103 in the treatment of prostate cancer while it is also used for diagnostics in the gastrointestinal tract. Yb-176 can be used as a target for the production of carrier-free Lu-177 with a high specific activity. Yb-171 in an excited state has been proposed as an optical frequency standard, while the other Yb isotopes are used in various physics experiments.

Erbium has six stable isotopes but only Er-168 appears to have a well established application. Er-168 is used for the production of Er-169 which is used in form of citrate for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.

Gadolinium Isotopes have the highest cross section for the capture of thermal neutrons of any element and this is mainly due to the high cross section of Gd-157 (255,000 barn) and Gd-155 (61,000 barn). Natural Gadolinium is currently used as a burnable poison in nuclear fuel, but the use of Gd-155/157 only has been proposed as this would create an even more effective burnable poison. Gd-152 is used for the production of radioactive Gd-153 which is used for osteoporosis research and bone density measurements. Gd-160 is used in double beta decay research.

Both Europium Isotopes are stable and used for the production of radioisotopes. Eu-151 is used for the production of Eu-152 which is used as a reference source in gamma spectroscopy. Eu-153 can be used for the production of high specific activity Sm-153 via fast neutron irradiation.

Both Europium Isotopes are stable and used for the production of radioisotopes. Eu-151 is used for the production of Eu-152 which is used as a reference source in gamma spectroscopy. Eu-153 can be used for the production of high specific activity Sm-153 via fast neutron irradiation.

Lead Isotopes are used for medical and scientific purposes. Pb-206 and Pb-207 can both be used to produce the medical radioisotopes Bi-205 and Bi-206. Pb-204, Pb-206 and Pb-207 are used to measure lead levels in blood. Pb-208 has been used to produce neutron-rich isotopes of W and Lu. Pb-208 has also been used to study the configuration of neutron stars. Several Lead Isotopes have also been used as target in the production of super heavy elements.

Thallium has two stable isotopes and one of these, Tl-203, is used to produce one of the “workhorses” of nuclear medicine: Tl-201. Tl-201 is used extensively for imaging and in particular for perfusion tests of the myocardium. These tests are done to determine the damage to the heart from a heart attack or from heart diseases. Tl-205 has been proposed as an alternative target for the production of Tl-201. Tl-205 is also used in nuclear magnetic resonance research.

Tungsten Isotopes are used in several applications. W-180 is used for the production of the therapeutic radioisotope W-181. W-186 is used for the production of W-188 which is used in so-called Tungsten-Rhenium generators. The W-188 daughter Re-188 is “milked” from there generators and used as a therapeutic radioisotope. W-184 has been used to study the elastic and inelastic scattering of heavy ions.

Of the nine stable Xenon Isotopes, several are used in various medical and scientific applications. Xe-124 is used in the production of two radioisotopes: I-123 and I-125. I-123 is used extensively in diagnostic procedures while I-125 is used in the treatment of prostate cancer. Hyperpolarized Xe-129 is used in the magnetic resonance imaging of gas flows in the lungs. Xe-136 has been proposed as a detector for neutrinoless double Beta decay research. Xe-126 can be used as a target for the production of radioactive Ba-128.

Both Rubidium Isotopes have medical and industrial applications. Rb-87 is used as a frequency standard in high-precision timing equipment such as GPS receivers. It also used in the production of Bose-Einstein condensates and in laser cooling. Rb-85 is used for the production of the radioisotope Rb-86 which is used as a tracer. Rb-85 can also be used for the production of Sr-82, which is used in Sr-82/Rb-82 generators, though Sr-82 is generally produced with natural Rubidium.