Skip to main content
. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2021 Oct 22.
Published in final edited form as: Nucl Med Biol. 2021 Apr 22;98-99:18–29. doi: 10.1016/j.nucmedbio.2021.03.010

Table 1. The advantages and disadvantages of the various methods used to determine subcellular localisation of a radionuclide or radiopharmaceutical.

Characteristics & suitability Subcellular fractionation Fluorescence imaging Micro-autoradiography Laser ablation – ICP-MS Ion beam analysis X-ray fluorescence microscopy
Easy availability Yes Yes No No No No
Cheap Yes Yes No No No No
Easy sample preparation Yes Yes (once dual labelled radiopharmaceutical synthesized) No Possibly (depends on sample) No No
Resolution N/A <1 μm 10–120 μm >1 μm 0.2–2 μm 50 nm
Sensitivity N/A Depends on fluorophore and microscope Depends on radionuclide and sample preparation ppt; pg/mL ppm; pg/mL ppb; ng/mL
2D or 3D N/A 2D and 3D 2D and 3D 2D and 3D (if combinedwith other methods) 3D 2D and 3D
Unchelated radionuclide No No Possibly Yes (cold equivalent) Yes (cold equivalent) Yes (cold equivalent)
Chelated radiopharmaceutical Yes Yes Yes Yes (cold equivalent)
Yes (cold equivalent) Yes (cold equivalent)