Development of [201Tl](III)oxinate complex for in vitro cell labeling

Background: The incorporation of thallium-201 into 8-hydroxyquinoline was targeted for cell labeling due to interesting physical properties and wide availability of this nuclide as a single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) radionuclide. Materials and Methods: Thallium-201 (T1/2=3.04 d) in Tl+ form was converted to Tl3+ cation in presence of O3/6M HCl and di-isopropyl ether, controlled by radiothin layer chromatography (RTLC) /gel electrophoresis methods. The final evaporated activity reacted with ethanolic 8-hydroxy-quinoline (oxine) solution in normal saline to yield [201Tl](III)oxinate at room temperature after 0.5 h, followed by solid phase extraction/purification using C18 Sep-Pak column and partition coefficient determination for water/lipid solubility. In vitro red blood cell (RBC) labeling was also performed. Results: A radiochemical yield of more than 95% was obtained. Radiochemical purity of 92% was obtained using RTLC (>90% using HPLC) with specific activity of about 820 GBq/mmol. The tracer was stable in the final product and in presence of human serum at 37°C up to 6h. The partition coefficient of lopP=5.5 was obtained. The labeled compound was used in RBC labeling. The cell uptake ratio was 0.47 after 240 min. Conclusion: [201Tl](III) oxinate used in this study is a widely available agent for use in RBC labeling studies in biology, medicine and various other research areas. Iran. J. Radiat. Res., 2008 6 (3): 145-150