title: Design and Prototype of an Automated Column-Switching HPLC System for Radiometabolite Analysis.
abstract: Column-switching high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) is extensively used for the critical analysis of radiolabeled ligands and their metabolites in plasma. However, the lack of streamlined apparatus and consequently varying protocols remain as a challenge among positron emission tomography laboratories. We report here the prototype apparatus and implementation of a fully automated and simplified column-switching procedure to allow for the easy and automated determination of radioligands and their metabolites in up to 5 mL of plasma. The system has been used with conventional UV and coincidence radiation detectors, as well as with a single quadrupole mass spectrometer.
authors.affiliation: Division of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging & Gordon Center for Medical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA. vasdev.neil@mgh.harvard.edu.
authors.forename: Neil
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Vasdev
authors.affiliation: Division of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging & Gordon Center for Medical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA. collierl@advion.com.|Advion Inc., Research and Development, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA. collierl@advion.com.
authors.forename: Thomas Lee
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Collier
keywords: column-switching HPLC; plasma; positron emission tomography; radiometabolite