Quantitative dynamic imaging of biological processes with solid state radiation detector

The authors have developed a technique and a prototype for /spl beta/-ray quantitative imaging of biological samples which have been radioactively labeled. The prototype is based on a solid state pixel detector, bump-bonded to a low threshold, single particle counting chip: the detector the authors used is 200-/spl mu/m thick GaAs, with pixel size 170 /spl mu/m. Here, they describe an experiment that shows the capability of monitoring a dynamic process. Specifically, [/sup 14/C]L-Leucine uptake by eggs of mollusk cephalopod Octopus culgaris and the consequent migration of marker into the ooplasm was followed.