Patent ID: 7229603

Claim:
A method of preparing a stable rapidly lyophilized radiopharmaceutical composition for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes that needs no refrigeration upon completion of the method and that increases the predictability of the integrity of the radiopharmaceutical composition by reducing radiolysis damage, comprising the following steps: evacuating a sealable chamber containing a flash frozen amount of said radiopharmaceutical composition having at least one radionuclide in at least one lyophilization-stoppered but as yet unsealed vial; said evacuating of said sealable chamber occurring by a vacuum pump connected by an evacuation tube passing through a primary condenser and a secondary condenser to lower the pressure to 10 −3 Torr while maintaining the temperature of said primary condenser above the boiling point of oxygen at said pressure; activating said secondary condenser to reduce said evacuation tube temperature below the boiling point of oxygen in order to accelerate the removal of water from said sealable chamber, thereby reducing more rapidly the presence of water molecules, including radiolysis degenerated water molecules, and reducing attendant free radical damage to said radiopharmaceutical composition, and increasing the predictability of the integrity of the radiopharmaceutical composition; restoring the ambient pressure in the sealable chamber to approximately atmospheric pressure with a pharmaceutically inert gas upon completion of the desired removal of water, and sealing the said at least one vial in order to preclude entry of external fluid upon such restoring of ambient pressure.