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Published on: November 20, 2018
Manganese-52 positron emission tomography tracer characterization and initial results in phantoms and in vivo
Geoffrey J Topping1, Paul Schaffer, Cornelia Hoehr
1Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 2B5, Canada. gtopping@physics.ubc.ca
Purpose:
Manganese(II) is employed as a contrast agent with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for study of neuronal activation in rats and mice. However, at the concentrations required for MRI, Mn may induce pharmacological or toxic effects. Positron emission tomography (PET) imaging of (52)MnCl2 at tracer doses has the potential to allow similar Mn studies as manganese-enhanced MRI while providing quantitative results and avoiding toxic effects. In this work, (52)MnCl2 is produced and characterized as a PET tracer in phantoms and in rats.
Methods:
(52)MnCl2 was produced by proton irradiation of natural Cr foil and separated by column chromatography. Images were acquired on a Siemens Focus 120 small animal PET scanner. Phantom images were acquired to assess uniformity, resolution, cascade background correction, and count rate linearity. Images of rats were also acquired after systemic and intracerebroventricular (ICV) administration of (52)MnCl2 to investigate Mn(II) distribution in vivo.
Results:
Irradiation yield was 74.6 ± 8.5 kBq/μA min (52)Mn at end of bombardment with initial specific activity of at least 3.5 MBq/nmol. (52)Mn PET images show similar uniformity and resolution to (18)F. (18)F based detector efficiency normalization is adequate for (52)Mn imaging. Subtraction of a rescaled random events distribution from sinogram data is effective for cascade correction of (52)Mn PET data. After systemic injection, (52)Mn appears in structures throughout the body of rats, including bones, liver, intestines, and the pituitary gland, but does not appear detectably throughout the brain. After ICV injection, (52)Mn remains in the brain and spinal cord.
Conclusions:
(52)Mn is a promising tracer for small animal PET imaging, yielding image quality comparable to (18)F. Potential applications include studies similar to Mn-enhanced neuronal MRI, and in other organ systems including bones, spinal cord, and the digestive tract.
Insights
This study introduces (52)MnCl2 as a novel positron emission tomography (PET) tracer for small animal imaging. It offers comparable image quality to (18)F, enabling quantitative manganese studies without toxicity concerns.
Area of Science:
- Nuclear medicine
- Radiochemistry
- Small animal imaging
Background:
- Manganese(II) is used as a contrast agent in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for studying neuronal activation.
- High concentrations of manganese required for MRI may lead to pharmacological or toxic effects.
- Positron emission tomography (PET) imaging offers a potential alternative for manganese studies at tracer doses, providing quantitative results and avoiding toxicity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To produce and characterize (52)MnCl2 as a PET tracer for small animal imaging.
- To evaluate the feasibility of using (52)MnCl2 for quantitative manganese studies.
- To compare the performance of (52)MnCl2 PET imaging with existing methods like manganese-enhanced MRI.
Main Methods:
- Production of (52)MnCl2 via proton irradiation of chromium foil and separation using column chromatography.
- Acquisition of PET images using a Siemens Focus 120 small animal PET scanner.
- Characterization of (52)MnCl2 in phantoms (uniformity, resolution, background correction, linearity) and in rats (in vivo distribution after systemic and intracerebroventricular administration).
Main Results:
- Successful production of (52)MnCl2 with good irradiation yield and specific activity.
- (52)Mn PET images demonstrated comparable uniformity and resolution to (18)F, with adequate normalization and effective cascade correction.
- In vivo studies showed (52)Mn distribution in various rat organs after systemic injection, and retention in the brain and spinal cord after intracerebroventricular injection.
Conclusions:
- (52)MnCl2 is a viable and promising tracer for small animal PET imaging.
- The image quality achieved with (52)Mn PET is comparable to that of (18)F.
- Potential applications include neuronal activation studies and investigations in other organ systems like bones, spinal cord, and the digestive tract.
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