Rate and pattern of gastric emptying in humans using 99mTc-labeled triethylenetetraamine-polystyrene resin.

The preparation and application of a new radiopharmaceutical used in the investigation of the rate and pattern of gastric emptying by external scintigraphy are described. Triethylenetetraamine was bound covalently to cross-linked chloromethylated polystyrene. The triethylenetetraamine-polystyrene resin tenaciously and rapidly bound technetium 99m. The gastric emptying rate was evaluated in normal adult volunteers and patients by serially recording the gastric radioactivity after ingestion of a test meal mixed with 99mTc-labeled triethylenetetraamine-polystyrene resin. The data indicated that 99mTc-labeled triethylenetetraamine-polystyrene resin was an ideal agent for assessing the rate and pattern of gastric emptying in humans. The gastric emptying half-time (t 1/2 GE) in normal subjects ranged from 25 to 75 min.