Fast determination of molybdenum and tellurium by neutron activation analysis

The utilization of 14.6-min 101Mo and 25-min 131Te for the determination of molybdenum and tellurium in biological materials by neutron activation analysis is described for the first time. Radioisotopes were separated from the samples activated in a thermal neutron flux of about 1014 n cm-2s-1. The radiochemical procedure for molybdenum involves extraction of Mo6+ from 6 M HCl into diethylether, re-extraction into water, precipitation as oxinate, and measurement of the gamma activity of 101Tc. The tellurium was separated by reduction to the element with SO2 in 3 M HCl, dissolution in HNO3, and reprecipitation as the element for the measurement of radioactivity. The sensitivity was estimated at ca. 10 ng at the level of confidence of 95%. The methods were tested by analyzing NBS-standard Bovine Liver and Orchard Leaves for molybdenum; the concentrations found were 3.2 +- 0.1 μg g-1 and 300 +- 60 ng g-1, respectively. The tellurium content of bovine liver was estimated at 90 +- 15 ng g-1