Development of Al-26 Accelerator Mass-Spectrometry for Biological and Toxicological Applications

We report the use of a 20 MV tandem Van de Graaff accelerator to conduct Al-26 mass spectrometry with fully stripped aluminium ions, and the development of an ion source preparation for the measurement of Al-26:Al-27 ratios in biological materials. Discrimination of Al-26 from Mg-26 is better than 1:10(9). Al-26 calibration is linear with an estimated detection limit approximately 10(-18) g and limiting Al-26:Al-27 ratio approximately 10(-13). Preliminary biological applications include identification of Al carrier proteins in blood, and investigations of Al uptake by cells in culture and Al speciation in natural waters.