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Significance of Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry Microscopy for Technetium-99m Mapping in Leukocytes

INSERM U66 Equipe de Microscopie Ionique: Relation Imagerie Chimique Quantitative-Fonctions Cellulaires, Institut Gustave-Roussy, Villejuif et Service de Médecine Nucléaire, Hopital Kremlin-Bicêtre, France

Correspondence: For reprints contact: Catherine Fourré, INSERM U66, Institut Gustave-Roussy, 94800 Villejuif, France.

ABSTRACT

Secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) microscopy is the only method potentially capable of mapping all the elements in the periodic table including stable and radioactive isotopes. We used this method to study ^99mTc distribution by detecting and localizing of ⁹⁹Tc, a daughter product which has the same mass and the same chemical properties. It was combined with albumin macroaggregates or with Hexamethylpropyleneamineoxime(HMPAO) in leukocytes. The efficiency of ⁹⁹Tc ionization under Cs⁺ bombardment was higher than with an O₂⁺ beam. By using high mass resolution we succeeded in detecting and localizing ⁹⁹Tc in cell sections by eliminating polyatomic ions that arise from this biological matrix. The ⁹⁹Tc specific signal was obtained with a mass resolution of 2000 for labeled albumin macroaggregates, and 5000 for HMPAO labeled leukocytes. In the latter, the labeling varied from one cell to another and ⁹⁹Tc was present in both the nucleus and the cytoplasm. The results indicate that SIMS microscopy can provide new insights into ^99mTc dosimetry.