Abstract
TechneScan MAG3™, a radiopharmaceutical kit developed by Mallinckrodt Medical Inc., St. Louis, MO, for use in the evaluation of renal tubular function, was tested under a variety of labeling conditions. The effects of varying time (0–30 min) and heating temperature (90°C–110°C), technetium-99m activity (0–150 mCi) and volume (4–10 ml), timing and volume (0–10 ml) of air addition to the kit, and age of generator eluate (0–12 hr) used in reconstitution were examined. Analysis of the results from the above experiments show that, when used within the parameters described in the package insert, the reconstituted TechneScan MAG3 kit gives acceptable radiochemical purity (i.e., greater than 90%) every time. Of special note, results from these studies indicate that 99mTc generator eluate which has stood for more than 6 hr after elution should not be used to label the kits. A novel quality control method using a Cl8 Sep Pak (Millipore Corp., Milford, MA) is described. This method is easy and quick to perform and gives excellent accuracy, with results similar to those obtained using high performance liquid chromatography.