Chromatographic determination of radiochemical purity. Replacement of ITLC SG

Thin layer chromatography is well established for quality control of radiopharmaceuticals. A convenient and widely used stationary phase are ITLC SG strips. However, the Pall Corporation stopped manufacturing of the silica gel impregnated glass fibre strips (ITLC SG). Material, Methods: As a replacement we tested silicic acid impregnated glass fibre strips from Varian (ITLC SA) and sufficient mobile phases. Results: The chromatography with these strips takes two to three times longer than with ITLC SG, but it is in an acceptable range. Only three mobile phases are necessary to test most of the common in-house made radiopharmaceuticals. Conclusion: The proposed method is suitable for routinely measuring the radiochemical purity of radiophamaceuticals.