Radiopharmaceuticals for scintigraphic imaging of infection and inflammation

Scintigraphic imaging of infection and inflammation is a powerful diagnostic tool in the management of patients with infectious or inflammatory diseases. Most infectious and inflammatory foci can be visualized accurately with radiolabeled autologous leukocytes. However, preparation of this radiopharmaceutical is laborious and requires the handling of potentially contaminated blood. Nowadays, a few radiopharmaceuticals are available that could replace radiolabeled leukocytes, such as: 67Ga-citrate, 99mTc-IgG and 99mTc-labeled antigranulocyte antibody preparations. Furthermore, various agents labeled with 99mTc are currently developed for this application: chemotactic peptides, cytokines and liposomes. Here, the characteristics and the diagnostic potential of established and experimental radiopharmaceuticals for infection and inflammation imaging are reviewed.