Selection of calcium isotopes for secondary ion mass spectrometric analysis of biological material

The use of stable isotopes as tracers for elemental localization is a function of the background count rate which is dependent upon both the natural abundance and the quantity of interferences at the nominal mass. The occurrence of a variable and unpredictable high background count rate at mass 44+ in biological tissue, probably CO2+, limits the usefulness of this isotope for physiological problems.