Standardization of beta and electron-capture nuclides in liquid scintillation gel samples

Gels permit one to save much work in liquid scintillation sample preparations. However, the presence of large amounts of water reduces the counting efficiency, which makes its determination more difficult. Experiment shows that standardization curves, efficiency as a function of quenching, are not affected by the water content, when the nuclide is a pure beta-ray emitter. However, some electron-capture nuclides have standardization curves which depend significantly on the volumes of water incorporated to the sample. This article studies the conditions for a direct standardization of beta and electron-capture nuclides in gel samples with water loading of up to 33% by volume. (Author)