2.3. Dimercapto succinic acid chelates: their structure and biological behaviour

The technetium 99m chelates of the dimercapto-succinic acid (DMSA) are used for kidney imaging or to assess quantitative renal function. Certain authors have found a great variability in tissue distribution related to the heterogeneity of preparations. At the present time it is still not clear where the cellular fixation takes place, which makes clinical interpretation difficult. The goals of the study undertaken on DMSA chelates were: 1) to optimize the physical and chemical parameters that maximize kidney uptake; 2) to isolate the preparation components and to study the structure of one of the complexes with the higher renal affinity; 3) to follow its kinetics in blood; 4) to determine the tissue localization and subcellular repartition in kidneys