Simultaneous determination of stable carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen isotopes in cellulose.

A technological development is described through which the stable carbon-, oxygen-, and nonexchangeable hydrogen-isotopic ratios (δ(13)C, δ(18)O, δ(2)H) are determined on a single carbohydrate (cellulose) sample with precision equivalent to conventional techniques (δ(13)C 0.15‰, δ(18)O 0.30‰, δ(2)H 3.0‰). This triple-isotope approach offers significant new research opportunities, most notably in physiology and medicine, isotope biogeochemistry, forensic science, and palaeoclimatology, when isotopic analysis of a common sample is desirable or when sample material is limited.