Cellular inactivation induced by a radiopharmaceutical kit: role of stannous chloride

Stannous chloride (SnCl2) has been used in many sectors of human activities such as food manufacturing and in nuclear medicine to produce radiopharmac euticals labeled with technetium-99m (Tc-99m). Due to its importance and ge notoxic potentiality, we decided to evaluate the biological effect induced by a nuclear medicine kit, which includes SnCl2, in association with glucoh eptonic acid (GHA) which is employed for brain and renal scintigraphies. Th ese studies were carried out with the Escherichia coil AB1157 strain and th e deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) plasmid pUC 9.1. The experiments, with differ ent concentrations of SnCl2 and GHA, show an inverse relationship between b oth agents. When the GHA concentration was increased, the cellular inactiva tion induced by SnCl2 was reduced, as measured by the number of viable cell s. Moreover, GHA protects the DNA molecule against the damage induced by Sn Cl2. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.