A novel ^{99m}Tc hyaluronate probe for SPECT imaging of lung cancer - feasibility study in an animal model.

This study described a novel radioactive probe for SPECT imaging of lung cancer. The probe was consisted of ^{99m}Tc labeled cartilage link protein (CLP). The CLP, a hyaluronate binding protein, was isolated from bovine nose cartilage and purified on a chromatography column. ^{99m}Tc labeling was carried out by pre-treating CLP with SnCl_2. The feasibility of this probe for lung cancer imaging was tested in vivo in an animal model. The hyaluronate probe showed a fairly good binding activity towards both natural and tumor hyaluronic acid in in vitro and in vivo assays. The preliminary feasibility study in a human lung cancer bearing mouse model showed that the probe might be useful for tumor imaging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]