Designed for the detection of radioisotopes on TLC plates, Miniscan is described as the ideal method for routine purity checks of radiopharmaceuticals or in-process analysis of reaction mixtures
A UK healthcare organisation has found that its Miniscan TLC scanner is even more useful than it originally expected.
The Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust purchased the scanner for the quality control of beta-emitting radiopharmaceuticals, but it has also found a role performing the same function for the more widely used gamma-emitting Tc99m-based type.
"We still need to run the chromatograms, so the Miniscan is no quicker, but it does give us a much more accurate assay and data that is easier to interpret than the 'cut and count' method," said the trust's chief radiopharmacist, Anne Richardson.
"Being able to store results electronically gives us the scope to keep up to date records that are instantly accessible, which in turn has made tracking them fast and easy".
The Miniscan TLC accepts up to six different detectors for all the isotopes commonly used in nuclear medicine/radiopharmacy/Pet centres, from 32P up to 99mTc, 18F and others.
Adding still further to the scanner's flexibility are variable scan speeds (0.1, 0.25, 1.0, 2.0mm/sec) that allow a 5x20cm plate to be analysed in as little as 100 seconds; and interchangeable detector slits for analysis of activities from 10nCi up to 100 uCi.
The digital pulse output makes the Miniscan TLC system easy to interface to LabLogic's Laura radio-chromatography data collection and analysis software, which is fully GMP- and Part 11-compliant.
