Determination of¹³C in plant materials by infrared absorption spectrometry using a simple calibration method

Abstract

As a stable isotope of carbon, l3C which is the form of carbon occurring in nature accounts for about 1.11 % of all the carbon in nature. Because of its lack of radioactivity, l3C has several advantages over radioactive homologues. Despite of this, l3C has not been widely used in biological tracer experiments hitherto. One of the main reasons is the difficulty and complexity in the measurements which are performed with a mass spectrometer (MS) or by a nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). These instruments are not readily available and require technical skill in the operation and maintenance.