Abstract
Technetium-99m mertiatide (99mTc-MAG3) is a newly approved radiopharmaceutical with a renal clearance similar to iodine-131 O-iodohippurate. The radiolabeling of 99mTc requires a 10-min heating period in a boiling water bath and an additional 8–10 min for determining radiochemical purity with a relatively expensive Sep-Pak C18 cartridge. A microwave oven heating method is an effective way to reduce the heating time (13 sec) while maintaining excellent labeling efficiency for 99mTc-MAG3 (average 99%). A two-strip minipaper chromatography system with 1:1:2 chloroform/acetone/tetrahydrofuran and 0.9% NaCl as mobile phases is a simple and rapid (2–3 min) procedure for the routine quality control of 99mTc-MAG3. The preparation and quality control of 99mTc-MAG3 can be completed within 5 min with the combination of the microwave oven heating method and the mini-paper chromatography system.