Survival of rabbit platelets labeled with gallium 67

The viability of rabbit platelets labeled with radioactive gallium was determined to analyze the feasibility of using platelets labeled with gallium 67 as an imaging reagent for positron emission tomography. Platelets were labeled with a complex of the longer lived gallium 67 and mercaptopyridine-N-oxide (MPO) or with sodium chromate Cr 51. Their survival after transfusion was measured. Labelling efficiency of /sup 67/Ga-MPO was 6.5% to 45.8% (26.8% +/- 2.8%) when platelets were suspended in saline solution, but was much lower (1.6% +/- 0.8%) in plasma. Platelets labeled with either radioisotope in a saline medium survived as well as platelets labeled with 51Cr in plasma. Recovery values 1 hour after transfusion and mean platelet survivals were 68.6% +/- 4.9% and 3.4 +/- 0.2 days for /sup 67/Ga in saline solution, 76.5% +/- 6.8% and 3.8 +/- 0.5 days for /sup 51/Cr in saline solution, and 73.7% +/- 7.4% and 3.6 +/- 0.5 days for /sup 51/Cr in plasma. Labeled platelet concentrates always contained extra radioactivity not firmly bound to viable platelets. A postlabeling wash in saline solution did not reduce this contamination and resulted in reduction of the number of viable platelets. The results showed that rabbit platelets labeled with /supmore » 67/Ga-MPO survived in the circulation as well as those labeled by a standard protocol with sodium chromate Cr 51.« less