by Jeroen J. M. de Goeij
The 7th International Conference on Nuclear Analytical Techniques
in the Life Sciences (NAMLS-7), cosponsored by IUPAC, was held 16-21
June 2002 in Antalya, Turkey. The preparations and entire organization
were handled by Dr. Namik. K. Aras (University of Bahcesehir, Istanbul,
Turkey), with the help of Dr. R.M. Parr (formerly of IAEA, Vienna,
Austria). About 170 participants from 39 countries, attended the
conference. The conference was held in an excellent on-shore hotel
with a beautiful panorama. There were no parallel sessions, thereby
enabling participants to follow all oral presentations. The program
contained sufficient free time and some social and tourist activities,
which stimulated the participants in having informal individual
and group discussions.
After an introductory session, ten technical sessions followed
on a rather wide range of topics: (i) speciation of trace elements
in biological materials; (ii) osteoporosis and other bone-related
studies; (iii) zinc in human nutrition and biological samples; (iv-vi)
reference materials and quality assurance; (vii) selenium in human
nutrition and biological samples, (viii-ix) nuclear analytical techniques
in environmental studies; (xi-xii) biomonitoring of environmental
pollution based on studies of trace elements in lichens, mosses,
and other biomonitors; and (xiii) development of methods. One session
(x) displayed all posters. In total, 71 oral presentations, including
many invited ones, and 119 posters were given. After a peer review,
accepted manuscripts will be published in a regular volume of the
Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry. Dr. A. Chatt (Dalhousie
University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada) will act as the conference
editor.
It was clearly demonstrated that nuclear analytical techniques
(NATs)–sometimes together with complementary isotope tracer
techniques–are still important, in spite of the development
of many other analytical techniques. They may provide interesting
additional information, and sometimes even unique information that
cannot be obtained otherwise. Following are a few examples: radioactive
selenium in the elucidation of the composition and function of selenoproteins,
radioactive and stable zinc isotopes in assessing zinc status and
utilization of dietary zinc, NATs for the determination of "difficult"
elements, for certification of reference materials, and/or for testing
other analytical techniques, including speciation.
At the start of the conference, the 2002 Hevesy Medal Award–the
premier international award of excellence in radioanalytical and
nuclear chemistry–was presented to Dr. Enrico Sabbioni (Joint
Research Centre, European Commission, Ispra, Italy). This was in
recognition of his excellence through outstanding, sustained career
achievements in the field, particularly applications to nuclear
analytical chemistry. In his acceptance speech Dr. Sabbioni highlighted
advanced research on metal metabolism and toxicity and the irreplaceable
role of radioanalytical techniques therein.
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(L to
R) Prof. Tibor Braun, chief editor of the Journal of Radioanalytical
and Nuclear Chemistry, donor of Hevesy Medal; Prof. Namik
Aras, Chairman, Local Organizing Committee, NAMLS-7; Prof.
A. Chatt, president of the International Committee on Activation
Analysis Modern Trends in Activation Analysis (ICAA/MTAA);
Prof. Enrico Sabbioni, 2002 Hevesy Medal Awardee; and Prof.
Robert Jervis, chairman, 2002 Hevesy Medal Selection Panel.
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The chairman of the NAMLS international committee, Dr. Rolf Zeisler
(NIST, Gaithersburg, Maryland, USA) stepped down from this position
after many years of service. Dr. Jan Kucera (Nuclear Physics Institute,
Rez, Czech Republic) was chosen as his successor. Dr. R.M. Parr
was reelected as committee secretary. The next NAMLS conference
will take place in 2005 in a Latin-American country. Information
on the conference–as well on previous ones–may be found
at the Web address below.
Jeroen J. M. de Goeij is a
professor of radiochemistry at Delft University of Technology and
at Eindhoven University of Technology, both in the Netherlands.
<www.members.aon.at/namls/index.html>
