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ben_radiochemistry

The Radiochemistry facility contains all the equipment needed to support radiopharmaceutical development and production for molecular imaging studies. Production of the PET radioisotopes is accomplished with a high energy (16.5MeV) GE PETtrace cyclotron, multiple automated radiochemical processing modules, hot cells, and other ancillary equipment. The radiopharmacy production laboratory is under GMP conditions as required by the U.S. Pharmacopeia Chapter 823 and 21CFR part 212. The facility will allow us to efficiently and safely produce radiopharmaceutical products for clinical imaging program as well as support our ongoing research program.

The Radiochemistry Laboratory is outfitted with multiple hot cells, several gas chromatographs, dedicated HPLC systems for clinical dose preparation, in-line UV and radioactivity detectors, radioactivity dose calibrators, balances, pH meters and rotary evaporators. Automated delivery lines are used to transfer radioisotopes directly from the cyclotron to shielded hot cells equipped with remote manipulators. There is also a laminar flow hood for sterile preparations. Radiosynthetic devices are computerized to provide operational efficiency, and the available PET probes include [18F]FDG, [11C]FMAU, [18F]FMAU, [18F]FHBG, [18F]5-fluorouracil, [15O]H2O, [15O]O2, [15O]CO, [15O]CO2, [13N]NH3, 68Ga-labeled peptides, and [18F-FB/64Cu-DOTA]-RGD et al. The Radiochemistry facility support quantitative measurement of radioactive metabolites in blood and tissue samples.