Approaches to radiolabelling blood cells: past, present and future

The importance of cellular blood elements in health and disease can never be overemphasized. Associated with every organic illness there is an involvement of blood cells. Using radiolabelled blood cells, researchers have made fundamental contributions in the basic knowledge of cell kinetics and physiology. Further development in cell labelling techniques, in conjunction with the advancements in nuclear imaging have made it possible to use radiolabelled blood cells as a non-invasive means of diagnosing diseases. Useful as it may be, we have become increasingly aware of the current limitations in the cell labelling technique. The object of this article is to highlight the past and present approaches to the technique, emphasize the current problems and discuss future directions that might help to fetch solutions. (Auth.)