Technetium-labelled liposome imaging for deep-seated infection.

Negatively charged phospholipid liposomes were labelled with technetium 99m and used as a radioisotopic tracer to detect focal inflammatory lesions in deep-seated sepsis and rheumatoid arthritis. Patients received an intravenous injection of the radiolabelled liposome preparation and were submitted to scintigraphy on the following day. Both the human volunteer and patients showed uptake in liver and spleen but no radioactivity was observed associated with the intestines. Radioactive uptake was visualised in infected prosthetic joints, tubo-ovarian abscess and osteomyelitis. In a patient with active rheumatoid arthritis radioactive uptake was confined to clinically affected joints. The preliminary findings suggest potential for technetium labelled liposomes as a diagnostic tracer.