Tellurium labeled analogues of the fatty acid hexadecenoic acid for imaging of myocardial tissue

Non-invasive nuclear diagnostic procedures for the evaluation of acute myocardial infarction and ischemia are currently limited by problems associated with the availablity of radiopharmaceuticals, development of imaging equipment, and inherent characteristics of radionuclides. Myocardial tissue requires high levels of substrates which provide energy for the continuous functioning of this vital organ. Of the major sources of energy, the most utilized source is fatty acids. Tellurium-123m, with excellent gamma imaging characteristics was chosen as the radionuclide. A 16 carbon fatty acid, hexadecenoic acid, was chosen as the carrier molecule. The tellurium-123m fatty acid radiopharmaceuticals were formulated either in a solution of 20 percent ethanol, two percent polysorbate 80, and brought to volume with normal saline or in 12.5 percent human serum ablumin and brought to volume with normal saline. Biodistribution was performed in three animal species: Sprague-Dawley rats (three rats per time frame), Australian white rabbits (three rabbits per time frame), and mongrel dogs (one dog per time frame). Dosimetry calculations were performed to assess the radiation dose