Development of heart imaging agent for nuclear medicine use

Myocardial perfusion study is one of the primary diagnostic procedure used to assess myocardial blood flow and function in patients with coronary heart disease. In this study, radiopharmaceutical kit MIBI (methoxy-Isobutyl-Isonitrile) is formulated by using stannous chloride (SnCl2) as the reducing agent. The kit is then radiolabelled with Technetium-99m pertechnetate and use as myocardial imaging agent. Early work in the formulation of two batches of the kit indicated the radiolabelling efficiency obtained was more than 95%. Upon storage at 4-8 C in liquid form, the kit is stable up to 1 month. In order to increase the shelf-life of the MIBI kit, few vials of the preparation was lyophilized by using a freeze-dryer while maintaining sufficient amount of usable tin (II). The moisture content of the lyophilized kit is to be determined by using Karl Fisher apparatus. (Author)