Radiopharmaceuticals for scintigraphic imaging of infection and inflammation

Scintigraphic imaging of infection and inflammation is a powerful diagnosti c tool in the management of patients with infectious or inflammatory diseas es. Most infectious and inflammatory foci can be visualized accurately with radiolabeled autologous leukocytes. However, preparation of this radiophar maceutical is laborious and requires the handling of potentially contaminat ed blood. Nowadays, a few radiopharmaceuticals are available that could rep lace radiolabeled leukocytes, such as: Ga-67-citrate, Tc-99m-IgG and Tc-99m -labeled antigranulocyte antibody preparations. Furthermore, various agents labeled with Tc-99m are currently developed for this application: chemotac tic peptides, cytokines and liposomes. Here, the characteristics and the di agnostic potential of established and experimental radiopharmaceuticals for infection and inflammation imaging are reviewed.