Preparation of sterile xenon-133 in saline for tissue perfusion studies

A simple, inexpensive method of obtaining Xe-133 in sterile saline is presented. The method uses commercial xenon ampules supplied for pulmonary ventilation studies. As much as 10% of the gas activity can be recovered per aliquot by cooling the saline to 4 degrees C. The specific activities obtained are adequate for most tissue perfusion studies.