Isotopic labeling (or isotopic labelling) is a technique used to track the passage of an isotope (an atom with a detectable variation in neutron count) through chemical reaction, metabolic pathway, or a biological cell. The reactant is labeled by replacing one or more specific atoms with their isotopes. The reactant is then allowed to undergo the reaction. The position of the isotopes in the products is measured to determine the sequence the isotopic atom followed in the reaction or the cell's metabolic pathway. The nuclides used in isotopic labeling may be stable nuclides or radionuclides. In the latter case, the labeling is called radiolabeling.
In isotopic labeling, there are multiple ways to detect the presence of labeling isotopes; through their mass, vibrational mode, or radioactive decay. Mass spectrometry detects the difference in an isotopes mass, while infrared spectroscopy detects the difference in the isotopes vibrational modes. Nuclear magnetic resonance detects atoms with different gyromagnetic ratios. The radioactive decay can be detected through an ionization chamber or autoradiographs of gels.
An example of the use of isotopic labeling is the study of phenol (CHOH) in water by replacing common hydrogen (protium) with deuterium (deuterium labeling). Upon adding phenol to deuterated water (water containing DO in addition to the usual HO), the substitution of deuterium for the hydrogen is observed in phenol's hydroxyl group (resulting in CHOD), indicating that phenol readily undergoes hydrogen-exchange reactions with water. Only the hydroxyl group is affected, indicating that the other 5 hydrogen atoms do not participate in the exchange reactions.