PPP Services and fees

From 1st of May 2017 and onward the following prices apply for academic research. Due to generous funding all academic prices are substantially subsidised.

Post		Price (SEK/h)
Labour cost	Preparation, experiment, analysis, report writing etc.	450
Bench fee	Applies to all type of work in all PPP laboratories; radiochemistry, cell lab, biology lab, PMOD image analysis etc.	200
Instrument	nanoPET-MRI 3T scanner	1000
	nanoSPECT-CT	300
	Triumph PET-SPECT-CT	150
	Typhoon	75
	Ligand Tracer	70
	Microtome	50
	Well counter	0
	Gamma counter	0
	HPLC system Alpha	0
	HPLC system Beta	0
	68Ga-generator	0
	Cyclone	0
Pass through costs	Chemical ordering	0
	Radioactivity ordering	0
	Other equipment	0

We offer expertise in radiolabelling and a radiochemistry laboratory with shielded fume hoods equipped with heating blocks to radiolabel small molecules and macromolecules for molecular imaging. We work with a range of different PET and SPECT radionuclides (see below). For purification and analysis we have two HPLC systems.

Small molecules (up to ~1500 g/mol)

Radionuclide		Imaging method	t1/2	Comment
Carbon 11	11C	PET	20.4 min	In house production
Fluorine 18	18F	PET	109 min	In house production

Macromolecules (over 1500 g/mol)

Radionuclide		Imaging method	t1/2	Comment
Fluorine 18	18F	PET	109 min	In house production
Cobalt-57	57Co	SPECT	271 d	Commercially available
Gallium-68	68Ga	PET	68 min	In  house generator
Zirconium-89	89Zr	PET	78 h	Commercially available
Technetium 99m	99mTc	SPECT	6 h	From hospital generator
Indium-111	111In	SPECT	67 h	Commercially available
Iodine-123	123I	SPECT	13.2 h	Commercially available
Iodine-124	124I	PET	4.18 d	Commercially available
Iodine-125	125I	SPECT	59.4 d	Commercially available
Iodine-131	131I	SPECT	8 d	Commercially available
Lutetium-177	177Lu	SPECT	6.6 d	Commercially available

Radiolabelling of small molecules

Do you have a small molecule in your project you want to label? Please get in contact with us as early as possible in your development process so we can discuss your needs and how to incorporate radiolabelling chemistry strategies.

Carbon-11, t_1/2 20.4 min, PET

Uppsala PET centre at the University Hospital produces range of ¹¹C-labelled PET tracers in the routine production such as methionine, hydroxytryptophane, PIB. In addition, in principle any tracer synthesis can be setup for preclinical and clinical trials provided the precursor and reference compund are available in reasonable amounts. Uppsala PET Centre and Uppsala University is well recognised for the innovation and development of [¹¹C]methyl iodide and [¹¹C]carbon monoxide labelling chemistry.

Fluorine-18, t_1/2  109 min, PET

Fluorine-18 is very versatile for labelling of small molecules and in used in many routine PET tracers such as FDG, FMISO and FLT. Such routine traces can sometimes be obtained form the Uppsala PET Centre. We also develop own labelling protocols for cusoms molecules with ¹⁸F. The conditions required is often a bit harsch so the labelling is often performed in multiple steps and with the use of protecting groups. Therefore the chemical route of labelling requires careful design.

Radiolabelling of macro molecules

Fluorine-18, t_1/2  109 min, PET

Many labelling agents have been developed for radiolabelling macromolecules with ¹⁸F. One of the major recent discoveries is the aluminium-fluoride chemistry known as Al¹⁸F. Aluminium-fluoride can be stably chelated into a D2OA-group. This particular chelator also allows ⁶⁸Ga and ¹¹¹In to be tested using the same precursor without any further modifications. In such a way 3 different radionuclides can be tested with limited chemistry development.

Gallium-68, t_1/2  68 min, PET

Gallium is one of the most verstile radionuclides for labelling of small peptides. We have our own preclinical ⁶⁸Ge/⁶⁸Ga-generator that can be eluted 2-3 times daily. Uppsala PET Centre have facilities to produce ⁶⁸Ga-tracers under cGMP conditions for clinical reserach.

Zirconium-89, t_1/2  78 h, PET

Larger molcules such as proteins often have slower kinetics in vivo and therefore a radionuclide with longer halflife is required. Typically the radionuclde inocorporation can be performed using Desferrioxamine B (DFO) bioconjugates at room temperature and pH 6.8-7.2.

Indium-111, t_1/2 67 h, SPECT

Peptides, protein and other macromolecules functionalised with a chelator such as DTPA, DOTA, NOTA or NODAGA can be radiolabelled with standard protocols.

Radio-iodine

Similar protocols can be used for all radio iodine, however, individual optimisation might be required due to different contaminants during the radionuclide production. In our laboratory we extensively use iodine-125 to radiolabel proteins for initial SPECT studies, and iodine-124 for PET-studies.

Lutetium-177, t_1/2 6.6 d, SPECT

Used with chelators such as DOTA and DTPA. Used for both imaging and radiotherapy studies.

Cell studies

In vitro autoradiography

We use a cryostate for sectioning of organs or tumours into thin slices which can be applied to a piece of glass.

Ex vivo autoradiography

The animal is sacrificed and the organs are immediately frozen and sliced with the cryostate.

Radiometabolite studies

The amonunt of intact tracer is an important parameter when performing kinetic modelling. That can be obtained by analysing samples of blood, urine and homogenized organ extracts by radio-HPLC.

This is the heart of PPP and we have three modern small animal scanners for PET, SPECT, MRI and CT. Contact us for more details.

Human research 3T PET-MRI

In October 23, 2014, Sweden’s first human PET-MRI equipment was inaugurated at Uppsala University Hospital. The nationally available human equipment funded by a grant from the Swedish Research Council will for example be used for whole body examinations to for instance detect tumours and evaluate therapies.

The non-invasiveness of PET-MRI investigations allows rapid translation between the preclinical and the clinical setting. Only minute amounts of radiolabelled compound (far below pharmacological doses) are required to be administered for clinical imaging due to the high sensitivity of modern PET scanners (the principle of “microdosing”). This means that the risk of adverse effects is greatly diminished.

More information about ongoing radiology research at the Department of Surgical Sciences.

Uppsala PET Centre

PPP has a close collaboration with Uppsala PET Centre that grants a smooth translation between preclinical and human research. Uppsala PET Centre has a long history of PET tracer development with carbon-11, fluorine-18 and gallium-68. Uppsala PET Centre have clinical expertise, linking pathophysiology with the disease using PET, skilled radiochemists and in addition expertise in data acquisition, correction, and modelling for kinetic analysis.

The PET centre is using the following equipment; 

• Scanditronix MC-17 cyclotron for ¹¹C, ¹⁵O and ¹⁸F production. A ⁶⁸Ge/⁶⁸Ga-generator for Gallium-68 production.
• 2 GE Discovery ST whole body PET/CT scanners.
• Access to 3T PET-MRI
• Access to MRI, US and SPECT imaging.
• 14 radiochemistry hot cells, most with automated synthesis equipment for tracer development and production (GMP).
• Analytical instrumentation for QC including HPLC, TLC, MS.
• Ancillary equipment for scanning e.g. on-line blood.
• Monitoring,  blood-sampling for metabolites.
• SOP system.