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Feasibility and availability of 68Ga-labelled peptides

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Abstract

68Ga has attracted tremendous interest as a radionuclide for PET based on its suitable half-life of 68 min, high positron emission yield and ready availability from 68Ge/68Ga generators, making it independent of cyclotron production. 68Ga-labelled DOTA-conjugated somatostatin analogues, including DOTA-TOC, DOTA-TATE and DOTA-NOC, have driven the development of technologies to provide such radiopharmaceuticals for clinical applications mainly in the diagnosis of somatostatin receptor-expressing tumours. We summarize the issues determining the feasibility and availability of 68Ga-labelled peptides, including generator technology, 68Ga generator eluate postprocessing methods, radiolabelling, automation and peptide developments, and also quality assurance and regulatory aspects. 68Ge/68Ga generators based on SnO2, TiO2 or organic matrices are today routinely supplied to nuclear medicine departments, and a variety of automated systems for postprocessing and radiolabelling have been developed. New developments include improved chelators for 68Ga that could open new ways to utilize this technology. Challenges and limitations in the on-site preparation and use of 68Ga-labelled peptides outside the marketing authorization track are also discussed.

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Acknowledgments

The assistance of Dr B.J. McParland with dosimetry calculations is acknowledged

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Nuclear Medicine, Innsbruck Medical University, Anichstrasse 35, 6020, Innsbruck, Austria

    Clemens Decristoforo

  2. GE Healthcare, Little Chalfont, UK

    Roger D. Pickett

  3. Laboratory of Radiopharmacy, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium

    Alfons Verbruggen

  4. Group 14, Radioactive Compounds, The European Pharmacopeia, European Directorate of Quality of Medicines, Strasbourg, France

    Clemens Decristoforo, Roger D. Pickett & Alfons Verbruggen

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  1. Clemens Decristoforo
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  2. Roger D. Pickett
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Correspondence to Clemens Decristoforo.

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Decristoforo, C., Pickett, R.D. & Verbruggen, A. Feasibility and availability of 68Ga-labelled peptides. Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging 39 (Suppl 1), 31–40 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00259-011-1988-5

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