• Journal of Radiopharmaceuticals and Molecular Probes
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.113-118
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• 2021

Chitosan is a polysaccharide derived from chitin by deacetylation. Chitosan is non-toxic, biodegradable, and biocompatible, so that it can be used in wide variety of medical applications such as wound healing and antimicrobial biomaterials. It also used as dermal fillers due to its ability to inject with liquid formulations. For investigation on in vivo distribution of these chitosans, Bolton-Hunter-conjugated chitosan (Chitosan-BH) was synthesized by the reaction between the primary amino group of chitosan and N-hydroxysuccinimide ester group of Bolton-Hunter reagent. Then Chitosan-BH was radiolabeled with ¹²⁵I (Chitosan-BH-¹²⁵I) using a Chloramine-T method. The effects of each radiolabeling step on the radiolabeling yield of the final product were tested. The results showed that purification step had significant effects on the radiolabeling yield of the final product. Finally, SPECT/CT images were obtained to evaluate in vivo uptake of the radiolabeled chitosan (Chitosan-BH-¹²⁵I) in several organs. The highest uptake was found in the site of injection at 21 days post-injection. The results of this study suggest that chitosan is expected to be useful for biomaterials of dermal fillers.