Spectra Stable Isotopes is a major producer of Stable Isotope Biochemicals (SIBs). SIBs are materials such as amino acids and carbohydrates in which the naturally abundant isotopes of hydrogen, carbon and nitrogen (¹H, ¹²C and ¹⁴N) are replaced with the respective rare stable isotopes of these elements (²H [deuterium], ¹³C and ¹⁵N). While these isotopes differ from the naturally abundant elements in mass, they do not decay and therefore are not radioactive. The extra mass found in stable isotopes is due to additional neutrons in the nuclei of these atoms, and this can be exploited to facilitate structure determination on the atomic level or to distinguish between chemically identical molecules by a precise measurement of their mass.

SIBs are used for two principal purposes. First, structural determination of proteins, carbohydrates and nucleic acids at the atomic level is made possible by the use of stable isotopes. Such structures can then be used to understand, for example, how two proteins interact and how novel drugs have to be designed to block such interactions. One example might be the transformation of normal cells in the human body to cancer cells. Sometimes a single aberrant protein is sufficient to trigger cancer, and blocking this one protein with a new drug can be sufficient to combat certain cancers. SIBs aid in determining the structure of proteins, carbohydrates and nucleic acids, and, by doing so, aid in the development of novel drugs. This is of particular importance because the recent completion of the human genome sequencing project will provide information on very large numbers of potential drug targets, and, hence, the need to determine protein structures will be great.

Second, SIBs may be used for metabolic studies to answer general metabolic questions or to specifically address certain pathological situations. Since stable isotope biochemicals behave in a manner that is chemically indistinguishable from "normal" molecules, they undergo the same metabolism as their "normal" counterparts. They do, however, carry a tag (their increased mass) and, by this virtue, any molecule tagged by stable isotopes, as well as its metabolic products, can be identified. Examples include the use of tagged fatty acids to clarify their metabolic fate, as well as breath tests which are being developed to detect diabetes, fatty acid malabsorption, lactose intolerance or liver cancer.


Spectra Stable Isotopes uses proprietary and highly efficient algae-based technology to generate SIBs. Algae are fed stable isotope enriched salts and carbon dioxide and are grown in the presence of light. Eventually, the algal biomass is broken down into its components, and these are used to generate the desired biochemicals. Further, Spectra Stable Isotopes' chemistry unit is capable of synthesizing complex molecules using its stable isotope reagents.


All reagents are distributed worldwide and can be ordered directly on this site. You may also email us at cilsales@isotope.com.