Nuclear Medicine Program progress report for quarter ending December 31, 1988

Abstract

A new project involving the development of production and processing technology for radionuclides of biomedical interest has been initiated in the Nuclear Medicine Program. This research supports the development of radioisotope production and processing technology and radionuclide generator systems to provide the technology required to make available radionuclides of biomedical interest. The principal focus is the evaluation of radioisotope reactor production modes, radiochemistry, and radioanalytical methods to provide radionuclides of high specific activity and radiochemical purity. This project complements the Nuclear Medicine and core Biomedical Radioisotope Technology Program which involves the design, development, and biological testing of new tissue-specific radiopharmaceuticals. The goal is to expand the capability at ORNL to produce medical radionuclides that are not commercially available using state-of-the-art technology. This project is not a production effort but a research and development activity to assess and solve problems associated with the production, processing, and availability of radionuclides of medical interest. The synthesis of 15-(p-iodophenyl)-3-R, S-methyl-3-hyroxypentadecanioc acid (3-hydroxy BMIPP) is also described in this report. Comparison of the chromatographic properties of the polar metabolite isolated rat hearts administered iodine-125 BMIPP have demonstrated it to be more polar than 3-hydroxy BMIPP.