Dual BGO radio-HPLC used by imaging centre

Lablogic Systems has detailed how the University of Manchester's Wolfson Molecular Imaging Centre is using a Dual BGO radio-HPLC detector.

The instrument is being used to detect low-level radionuclides for its research into PET methodologies.

Focused on research in the fields of oncology, neurology and psychiatry, the Centre has facilities for cGMP synthesis of tracers, including 15O water and 11C-labelled PK11195, methionine, MDL100907, DASB and verapamil.

Dr Adam McMahon, from the Wolfson Molecular Imaging Centre, said: 'In some cases we follow the in-growth of radiometabolites in human plasma after administration of PET tracers.

'This is a challenging task that requires a combination of sample preparation methods, HPLC and sensitive radiodetection.

The Dual BGO radio detector interfaces with Lablogic's Laura radiochromatography data collection and analysis software package, which offers the half-life correction functionality that is imperative when working with PET radionuclides.

The system has two 1in diameter x 1.5in thick BGO crystals mounted on 1.5in photomultiplier tubes (PMT), amplifier electronics for each BGO/PMT detector unit, and a coincidence circuit that produces a count only when events are detected in each unit within a one microsecond window.

PET radionuclides decay by positron emission, and the positrons combine with electrons and annihilate with two 511 keV gammas emitted in opposite directions.

If the emission comes from the volume between the two detector units, there is a high probability that a coincidence event has been detected.

For events which originate outside this region, or for other gammas from normal laboratory background, there is no coincidence event.

The result is a very low background system capable of detecting low-level PET labelled metabolites.

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