Tritium Exchange from Compounds in Dilute Aqueous Solutions

Abstract

ALTHOUGH considerable information is available about the lability of the tritium in tritiated compounds treated with acid or alkaline solutions¹, little attention has been given to its lability in compounds stored in dilute aqueous solution in the essentially neutral conditions usually preferred for biological investigations. Recently, the exchange of the C₈ proton of purine derivatives with water has been reported², and we now publish some of our findings on tritium exchange in purines and in other nucleics and amino-acids, in order to make research workers using these materials more aware of this phenomenon.