Biochemical paths in humans and cells: Frontiers of AMS bioanalysis

The publication rate of H-3 and C-14 use in biomedical research decreased by a factor of three since 1990 when the first applications of AMS in biomedicine were published. Against this decrease, the high sensitivity of AMS for these isotopes in small isolated samples has made significant contributions. New smaller spectrometers and increased commercial availability of AMS have solved some of the issues surrounding availability and cost, but improved quantitation in non-isotopic methods now compete with some early uses of AMS. We review the strength of AMS for quantifying rare biochemical events and chemical passages through individual people or cells and consider these as the frontiers of quantitation leading to profitable science unavailable to other techniques. (c) 2007 Published by Elsevier B.V.