Encapsulated radiophosphorescent standards for day-to-day photometer calibration

Abstract

Solid, unquenched, radiophosphorescent standards for use in the day-to-day calibration of bottom viewing photometers (luminometers) were prepared by encapsulating commercially-available phosphor powders that are excited to phosphoresce by the beta- decay of 63Ni (t0.5 = 96 yr) or 14C (t0.5 = 5730 yr). The radionuclides are physically adsorbed on the phosphors by precipitation either as a "basic nickel carbonate" or as barium carbonate. The radioactive phosphors are then deposited by centrifugation as a thin layer at the bottom of the vials or tubes that are normally used in the photometer. The phosphor layer is infiltrated with a plastic resin and embedded. A light absorbing layer is subsequently cast over the phosphor layer to prevent stray light excitation of phosphorescence. The encapsulated photometer standards have remained mechanically and photometrically stable since their fabrication, which in some cases is 3 years ago. An equivalent level of visible luminescence emitted from the standards of up to 2.3 x 10(10) photons.s-1 was achieved by using an appropriate amount of radioactivity and the proper phosphor. The phosphor used in the standards could be chosen such that the radiophosphorescence emission spectrum corresponded approximately to the chemiluminescence or bioluminescence spectrum under investigation.