DETERMINATION OF SN(II) IN TECHNETIUM COLD KITS BY VOLTAMMETRY AT THEHANGING MERCURY DROP ELECTRODE (HMDE) AND RELEVANT RADIOPHARMACEUTICAL APPLICATIONS

A novel approach for the determination of the stannous content in cold kits for labelling with Tc-99m is described. The method is based on d ifferential pulse polarography on the hanging mercury drop electrode i n a methanol/water/perchloric acid mixture and is easy to perform. Exa mples for the determination of tin(II) in fractionated technetium cold kits are shown. The stability of tin(II) in solution was mainly depen dent on the storage temperature and the kit composition. The low stabi lity of stannous ions under certain conditions was shown to be the mai n reason for low radiochemical purity. Limits and dangers of fractiona ting kits are discussed and related to content and instability of tin( II). (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Inc.