Our purpose was to evaluate the safety profile and biodistribution behavior in healthy human volunteers of the new myocardial perfusion tracer bis[(dimethoxypropylphosphanyl)ethyl]ethoxyethylamine N,N'-bis(ethoxyethyl)dithiocarbamato nitrido technetium(V) (99mTc-N-DBODC).
Methods: Ten healthy male volunteers were injected with 99mTc-N-DBODC under both stress and rest conditions. Anterior and posterior planar gamma-camera images were collected at 5, 30, 60, 240, and 1,440 min after injection, with organ uptake quantified by region-of-interest analysis. Tracer kinetics in body fluids were determined by collecting blood and urine samples at different time points.
Results: After injection, 99mTc-N-DBODC showed significant accumulation in the myocardium and prolonged retention. Under rest conditions, uptake in the heart, lungs, and liver at 5 min after injection was 1.67% +/- 0.13%, 1.16% +/- 0.07%, and 10.85% +/- 1.72%, respectively, of administered activity. Under stress conditions, heart uptake was significantly higher (2.07% +/- 0.22%). Radioactivity in the liver decreased to 3.64% +/- 0.98% and 2.37% +/- 0.48% at 60 and 240 min, respectively, after injection. This rapid liver clearance led to favorable heart-to-liver ratios, reaching values of 0.74 +/- 0.13 at rest and 1.26 +/- 0.28 during exercise 60 min after tracer administration. Radiation dose estimates were comparable to those obtained with other myocardial perfusion cationic compounds.
Conclusion: The high uptake in the myocardium and the fast liver washout of 99mTc-N-DBODC will allow SPECT images of the left ventricle to be acquired early and with excellent quality.