[Autoradiography for drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics study]

Since Ullberg presented a macroautoradiograph showing the distribution of 35S-benzylpenicillin in rats by use of a commercial X-ray film in 1954, anything besides X-ray film has never been used for macroautoradiography. In the minireview a new type of radiation sensor, "Imaging Plate" (IP), is introduced as a useful sensor as a sensor that is more useful than previous ones. The IP is a photo-stimulable phosphor that can trap and store the radiation energy quantitatively. About 100 times higher sensitivity than any of ordinary X-ray films and very precise quantitativeness are demonstrated by many results reported recently. Simple procedures are herein presented with a few demonstrative examples of macro- and microautoradiography.