aIn this study, the optimization of troxacitabine labeling with iodine-125 and its biological evaluation were described. Troxacitabine was labeled via direct electrophilic substitution using chloramine-T as oxidizing agent. The optimum amounts of reactants were: 50 lg troxacitabine, 75 lg Chloramine-T and $19 kBq carrier free Na 125 I. The labeled troxacitabine was stable for more than 24 h. Results of the in-vivo evaluation revealed that the new tracer, [ 125 I]troxacitabine, tends to localize in tissues with high proliferation rate with preferential accumulation in cancerous tissues. Imaging should be carried at 3 h postinjection. The in vitro cell growth inhibition assay showed that the effect of [ 125 I]troxacitabine was stronger than the effect of cold troxacitabine, which strongly suggested that its cytotoxicity was mainly due to radiotoxicity rather than chemotherapeutic activity. The binding assay revealed that [125 I]troxacitabine uptake by the Ehrlich and the ARAC8C cells was high and that it bounded well to DNA.