New methodology for pancreatic scintiscanning imaging using 125I-L-3 Iodo-alpha-Methyl Tyrosine.

The difficulty of a reliable diagnosis of pancreatic diseases by scintiscanning, is mainly derived from the lack of adequate radiopharmaceuticals. With this purpose 125I-L-3 Iodo-a-Methyl Tyrosine (125I-IMT) has been studied, which has also been used for the diagnosis of different kind of brain tumors. The purpose of this work is the development of a quick and easy method for the synthesis and purification of the 125I-IMT in order to be used in a Nuclear Medicine Service. The L-alpha-Methyl Tyrosine was labeled with 125I using I-/I03 and afterwards purified by an anionic exchange resin. The labeling yield obtained was (96.0 +/- 0.5)% when the incubation time was 15 minutes. No significant statistical differences were observed when the incubation time was extended to 1 hour. Biodistribution studies in mice show that the percentage of activity concentration in pancreas is (34.24 +/- 14.03)% at 15 minutes post injection, remaining constant for 30 minutes. The pancreas/liver ratio 15 minutes after the injection of the labeled product was (12.22 +/- 3.59) and it remained constant for 45 minutes more. These results show that 125I-IMT can be used as a diagnostic agent for pancreatic diseases. Since 123I was not available at the moment, this new methodology was developed with 125I.