Background: α particle emitting bismuth (212Bi) as decay product of 212Pb-labeled pharmaceuticals has been effective in targeted α particle therapy (TAT). Estimating the contribution of 212Bi released from its chelator to the absorbed doses in nontarget tissues is challenging in TAT. Physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) modeling can help overcome this limitation. Therefore, a whole-body 212Bi-PBPK model was developed to describe the pharmacokinetics (PKs) of 212Bi in rats. Materials and Methods: The rat 212Bi-PBPK model was implemented using the modeling software SAAM II with data and parameter values from the literature. Besides other mechanisms, 212Bi interactions with red blood cells, high molecular weight plasma protein, and intracellular biological thiols are described. Important PK parameters were fitted to time-activity data. Absorbed dose coefficients (ADCs) were calculated for injecting 0.774 fmol of 212Bi. Results: 212Bi uptake rates of liver, bone, small intestine, bone marrow, skin, and muscle were (0.86 ± 0.13), (3.85 ± 0.63), (0.27 ± 0.05), (1.44 ± 0.29), (0.04 ± 0.01), and (0.007 ± 0.007) per min with corresponding ADCs of 0.09, 0.03, 0.03, 0.07, 0.01, and 0.003 mGy/kBq, respectively. An ADC of 0.70 mGy/kBq was determined for kidneys. Conclusions: Kidneys are the dose-limiting organs in 212Bi-based TAT. The 212Bi-PBPK model is an effective tool to investigate the 212Bi biodistribution in murine models. Integrating the 212Bi-PBPK model into other murine and human PBPK models of α particle generators can help study the efficacy and safety of TAT.
Keywords: PBPK model; cysteine-rich biomolecule; free 212Bi; pharmacokinetics; targeted αparticle therapy.