A radioanalytical technique to study the behavior of organic toxicants applied to a study of the photodegradation of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin

A general method for tritium labeling of organic compounds by the use of thermal activation of tritium is described. It allows obtaining uniformly tritium-labeled organic compounds with high specific activity (up to 50 Ci/mmol) which permits tracing the majority of the biodegradation products of compounds studied. More than 40 compounds were labeled using this simple, rapid and inexpensive method. Separation of the biodegradation products is performed by thin layer chromatography. Quantification is performed by direct measurement of the radioactivity by liquid scintillation counting after transfer of the layer from TLC plates into scintillation vials, or by densitometry of autoradiographs. The technique is useful for a wide range of organic compounds, including ones with unknown structure, and can be applied to various in vivo and in vitro studies.