Producing and dispensing small quantities of 15N2 gas at atmospheric pressure
Author(s)
Diocares, Rene
Morey, Taylor
Holguin, Gina
Griffith University Author(s)
Year published
2006
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Heavy nitrogen (15N2)1 is often used as a label for nitrogen Wxation experiments in which it is desirable to monitor directly the rate of nitrogen Wxation and the destination of the resulting metabolites in an organism or ecosystem [1-4]. Heavy nitrogen can be purchased in a pressurized cylinder or produced in the laboratory with specialized equipment, but both methods of obtaining the gas are expensive. These methods also introduce a complication because a typical nitrogen Wxation experiment requires samples of gas at atmospheric pressure. The pressure must be reduced with a pressure regulator in the case of gas in a ...
View more >Heavy nitrogen (15N2)1 is often used as a label for nitrogen Wxation experiments in which it is desirable to monitor directly the rate of nitrogen Wxation and the destination of the resulting metabolites in an organism or ecosystem [1-4]. Heavy nitrogen can be purchased in a pressurized cylinder or produced in the laboratory with specialized equipment, but both methods of obtaining the gas are expensive. These methods also introduce a complication because a typical nitrogen Wxation experiment requires samples of gas at atmospheric pressure. The pressure must be reduced with a pressure regulator in the case of gas in a pressurized cylinder, and traditional laboratory methods produce heavy nitrogen at pressures well below atmospheric that are not generally suitable for direct use in nitrogen Wxation experiments [1]. This is because there is no easy way in which to compress the gas to atmospheric pressure for subsequent injection into a sample bottle. This report describes a simple alternative technique that produces small quantities (limited by the volume of available plastic syringes) of heavy nitrogen at atmospheric pressure with readily available analytical chemicals, laboratory supplies, and equipment. The technique is based on that of Wood and Kennedy [4] but does not require their special apparatus.
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View more >Heavy nitrogen (15N2)1 is often used as a label for nitrogen Wxation experiments in which it is desirable to monitor directly the rate of nitrogen Wxation and the destination of the resulting metabolites in an organism or ecosystem [1-4]. Heavy nitrogen can be purchased in a pressurized cylinder or produced in the laboratory with specialized equipment, but both methods of obtaining the gas are expensive. These methods also introduce a complication because a typical nitrogen Wxation experiment requires samples of gas at atmospheric pressure. The pressure must be reduced with a pressure regulator in the case of gas in a pressurized cylinder, and traditional laboratory methods produce heavy nitrogen at pressures well below atmospheric that are not generally suitable for direct use in nitrogen Wxation experiments [1]. This is because there is no easy way in which to compress the gas to atmospheric pressure for subsequent injection into a sample bottle. This report describes a simple alternative technique that produces small quantities (limited by the volume of available plastic syringes) of heavy nitrogen at atmospheric pressure with readily available analytical chemicals, laboratory supplies, and equipment. The technique is based on that of Wood and Kennedy [4] but does not require their special apparatus.
View less >
Journal Title
Analytical Biochemistry
Volume
352
Issue
2
Subject
Analytical Chemistry
Other Chemical Sciences
Biochemistry and Cell Biology