Biodistribution is a method of tracking where compounds of interest travel in an experimental animal or human subject. For example, in the development of new compounds for PET (positron emission tomography) scanning, a radioactive isotope is chemically joined with a peptide (subunit of a protein). This particular class of isotopes emits positrons (which are antimatter particles, equal in mass to the electron, but with a positive charge). When ejected from the nucleus, positrons encounter an electron, and undergo annihilation which produces two gamma rays travelling in opposite directions. These gamma rays can be measured, and when compared to a standard, quantified. Biodistribution analysis Purpose and results A useful novel radiolabelled compound is one that is suitable either for medical imaging of certain body parts such as brain or tumors (injecting low doses of radioactivity) or for treating tumors (requiring injection of high doses of radioactivity). In both cases, the compound needs to accumulate in the target organ and any surplus compound present needs to clear the body rapidly. In medical diagnostic imaging, this then produces a clear diagnostic image (high image contrast), and in radiotherapy leads to an attack of the target (e.g. tumor) while minimizing side effects to non-target organs. Additional factors need to be evaluated in the development of a new diagnostic or therapeutic compound, including safety for humans. From an efficacy point of view, the biodistribution is an important aspect which can be measured by dissection or by imaging. By dissection For example, a new radiolabelled compound is injected intravenously into a group of 16-20 rodents (typically mice or rats). At intervals of 1, 2, 4, and 24 hours, smaller groups (4-5) of the animals are euthanized, then dissected. The organs of interest (usually: blood, liver, spleen, kidney, muscle, fat, adrenals, pancreas, brain, bone, stomach, small intestine, and upper and lower large intestine, a tumor if present) are placed in pre-weighed containers and weighed, then placed into a device that measures radioactivity (e.g. gamma radiation). Normalizing the tissue radioactivity concentrations to the injected dose gives values in units of percent of the injected dose per gram of organ or biological tissue. The results give a dynamic view of how the compound moves through the animal and where it is retained. By imaging Similar to the dissection procedure, animals are injected with a low dose of a radiolabelled compound. At the chosen time points after injection, PET or