Wednesday, 1 April, 2026

Anthropogenic eutrophication of Lake Titicaca (Bolivia) revealed by carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes fingerprinting

The contribution of stable isotopes of antimony for tracing pollution sources and transfer processes in aquatic environments.

Multi-isotope (Pb, Sb) approach to trace metallic contaminant sources at a historical mining and metallurgical site

Antimony isotope fractionation during Sb(V) and Sb(III) adsorption on secondary Fe-minerals (schwertmannite, ferrihydrite) typical of mine waters

ISOF Standard | Secure Isotopic Data Exchange

Open standard

The ISOF Standard
Isotopic Secure Open Format

A unified, cryptographically secured format designed for the exchange of geochemical and forensic isotopic data.

MIT License ECDSA P-256 100 % offline verification Python & Rust

Native ECDSA signatures

Air-gap compatible

MIT open source

v0.1.1 stable

Overview

What is ISOF?

ISOF (Isotopic Secure Open Format) is a next-generation open standard designed to unify isotopic data with its complete analytical context. By embedding raw ratios, purification yields and laboratory protocols into a single, immutable container, ISOF transforms scattered spreadsheets into verifiable scientific assets.

Unified metadata

Raw isotopic ratios, measurement uncertainties, reference standards and purification yields in a single, immutable container for long-term reproducibility.

Cryptographic proof

Every file is natively signed using ECDSA P-256. Data is bound to the identity of a specific laboratory, making any unauthorised alteration immediately detectable.

Selective confidentiality

Verify the authenticity and origin of a batch without exposing sensitive raw data to third parties. Compliance guaranteed without leaking trade secrets.

Air-gap compliant

ISOF verification is 100 % offline, with no cloud connection or third-party server. Designed for sensitive environments and isolated networks.

Context

The trust crisis in isotopic data

In high-stakes sectors, from environmental forensics to the traceability of strategic materials, data integrity is non-negotiable.

Traditional formats such as CSV or XLS are "silent": they cannot guarantee origin, issue date, or protection against tampering during transfer. ISOF bridges the gap between scientific precision and digital sovereignty.

Applications

Strategic applications

From the laboratory to the courtroom, from the factory floor to national defence.

Industry

Strategic materials

Secure the rare earth, semiconductor and alloy supply chain by certifying material origin at every stage of the industrial cycle.

Legal

Environmental forensics

Guarantee the integrity of isotopic fingerprints of pollutants, from the field to the courtroom, ensuring complete and court-proof traceability.

Security

National sovereignty

Maintain data integrity in defence-related sensitive geochemical applications, where cloud dependency represents a critical security vulnerability.

Technical

Lightweight JSON architecture

ISOF v1.0 is built on a human-readable JSON architecture, parseable by any modern system, with strict validation rules and an embedded cryptographic signature.

sample_data.isof

{
  "isof_version": "1.0",
  "header": {
    "lab_id":    "ISO-REF-042",
    "timestamp": "2026-03-12T14:30:00Z"
  },
  "data": {
    "element":           "Pb",
    "206Pb_204Pb":       18.234,
    "207Pb_204Pb":       15.612,
    "uncertainty":       0.002,
    "purification_yield": 98.7
  },
  "signature": {
    "level":         2,
    "signature_b64": "304502210089...",
    "signed_by":    "HydroSciences Montpellier"
  }
}

Implementation

Integration into your pipelines

Available in Python and Rust, the ISOF parser integrates into high-performance data pipelines (Pandas) or lightweight offline systems.

"Security is not a feature, it is a foundation."

Download

Download and integration

Whether you are a researcher looking for a ready-to-use tool or a developer building custom pipelines, ISOF is accessible at every step of your workflow.

IsoFind Software

The ISOF format is the native core of IsoFind. A full graphical interface to manage, visualise and sign your isotopic data without writing a single line of code.

Download IsoFind

Open source library

Distributed under the MIT license, the ISOF library integrates with any existing LIMS or analysis software. Full transparency, no vendor lock-in.

View on GitHub

terminal

# Install the official Python library
pip install isof

# Verify the integrity of an ISOF file
import isof
certificate = isof.load("sample_data.isof")
print("Verified:", certificate.is_valid())

Verified: True

Current version: 0.1.1 | Stable

The ISOF StandardIsotopic Secure Open Format