Isotope decay range distribution curves for use in the analysis of electron microscope autoradiographs

Analysis of autoradiographs at the electron microscope level requires special procedures, since the size of the radioactive structures visualized are comparable to the range of the radioactive decay particles emitted. Quantitative analysis in these circumstances requires that the sizes, shapes, and juxtaposition of the various structures be taken into account in relation to the range distribution of silver grains, produced by the decays, from a point source for the particular isotope and autoradiographic conditions employed. We present the distribution of silver grains about a point source for the four electron capture isotopes 51Cr, 55Fe, 111In, and 125I. Thin radioactive line sources were constructed and the distribution of autoradiographic grains measured. The grain distributions are discussed in relation to the number of particles per disintegration and their energy and range. A simple calculation enables these line source distributions to be converted into point source distributions, which can then be used for whichever method of quantitative analysis is considered appropriate for a particular problem. An outline is given of some of the more important aspects of various methods of analysis.