Application of80m Br to the semi-automated analysis of bromine in biological fluids

A method is presented for the determination of bromine in biological fluids that demonstrates the possibility of adapting neutron activation analysis to large-scale, routine programs. By means of a simple and inexpensive semi-automated system radioactive bromine is separated from one hundred samples per day. A new procedure for determining bromine through measurement of the 36-keV γ-ray of^80m Br has been developed and incorporated into this method. The advantages achieved with this multipurpose separation system and low-energy γ-spectrometry are demonstrated through analyses of urine, serum, plasma and saliva.