Synthesis and Evaluation of 99mTc-Labeled DPro-Gly-Containing Tracers Targeting PSMA.

The specific expression of prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) makes it an ideal target for the diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer. Currently, many 99mTc-labeled PSMA-targeted tracers have been developed. However, the high renal uptake of these 99mTc-labeled tracers is a common problem that limits their clinical application. In this work, the ligand (EUKPG) using DPro-Gly as the linker was synthesized and three 99mTc-labeled complexes ([99mTc]Tc-EUKPG-EDDA, [99mTc]Tc-EUKPG-TPPTS, [99mTc]Tc-EUKPG-TPPMS) with different coligands were prepared and evaluated. Among them, [99mTc]Tc-EUKPG-EDDA showed the most favorable pharmacokinetic properties, with significantly reduced uptake in the kidney (14.04 ± 0.23% ID/g), rapid clearance and low uptake in nontarget organs, thus making it to exhibit high tumor-to-background ratios (tumor/blood: 7.47, tumor/muscle: 12.65). Affinity studies have shown that it has high specificity for PSMA both in vivo and in vitro. Therefore, [99mTc]Tc-EUKPG-EDDA has great potential as a promising molecular tracer to target PSMA for tumor imaging.

[99mTc]Tc-labeled HYNIC conjugated chlorambucil as a tumor targeting Agent: Synthesis, characterization and ex-vivo evaluation.

Chlorambucil is an alkylating drug that finds application towards chemotherapy of different types of cancers. In order to explore the possibility of utilization of this drug as an imaging agent for early diagnosis of solid tumors, attempt was made to synthesize a 99mTc complex of chlorambucil and evaluate its potential in tumor bearing small animal model. HYNIC-chlorambucil was synthesized by conjugation of HYNIC with chlorambucil via an ethylenediamine linker. All the intermediates and final product were purified and characterized by standard spectroscopic techniques viz. FT-IR, 1H/13C-NMR as well as by mass spectrometry. HYNIC-chlorambucil conjugate was radiolabeled with [99mTc]Tc and found to be formed with > 95 % radiochemical purity via RP-HPLC studies. The partition coefficient (Log10Po/w) of the synthesized complex was found to be -0.78 ± 0.25 which indicated the moderate hydrophilic nature for the complex. Biological behaviour of [99mTc]Tc-HYNIC-chlorambucil, studied in fibrosarcoma bearing Swiss mice, revealed a tumor uptake of about 4.16 ± 1.52 %IA/g at 30 min post-administration, which declined to 1.91 ± 0.13 % IA/g and 1.42 ± 0.14 %IA/g at 1 h and 2 h post-administration, respectively. A comparison of different [99mTc]Tc-chlorambucil derivatives (reported in the contemporary literature) formulated using different methodologies revealed that tumor uptake and pharmacokinetics exhibited by these agents strongly depend on the lipophilicity/hydrophilicity of such agents, which in turn is dependent on the bifunctional chelators used for formulating the radiolabeled chlorambucils.

Preparation and bioevaluation of a novel 99mTc-labelled propylene amine oxime (PnAO) containing two 4-methyl-2-nitroimidazole groups as a promising tumor hypoxia imaging agent.

Hypoxia is a common phenomenon in solid tumors, and its presence inhibits the efficacy of tumor chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Accurate measurement of hypoxia before tumor treatment is essential. Three propylene amine oxime (PnAO) derivatives with different substituents attached to 2-nitroimidazole were synthesized in the work, they are 3,3,9,9-tetramethyl-1,11-bis(4-bromo-2-nitro-1H-imidazol-1-yl)-4,8-diazaundecane-2,10-dione dioxime (Br2P2), 3,3,9,9-tetramethyl-1,11-bis(4-methyl-2-nitro-1H-imidazol-1-yl)-4,8-diazaundecane-2,10-dione dioxime (Me2P2) and 3,3,9,9-tetramethyl-1,11-bis(4,5-dimethyl-2-nitro-1H-imidazol-1-yl)-4,8-diazaundecane-2,10-dione dioxime (2Me2P2). The three compounds were radiolabeled with 99mTc to give three complexes([99mTc]Tc-Br2P2, [99mTc]Tc-Me2P2 and [99mTc]Tc-2Me2P2) with good in vitro stability. [99mTc]Tc-Me2P2 with a more suitable reduction potential had the highest hypoxic cellular uptake, compared with [99mTc]Tc-2P2 that have been previously reported, [99mTc]Tc-Br2P2 and [99mTc]Tc-2Me2P2. Biodistribution results in S180 tumor-bearing mice demonstrated that [99mTc]Tc-Me2P2 had the highest tumor-to-muscle (T/M) ratio (12.37 ± 1.16) at 2 h in the four complexes. Autoradiography and immunohistochemical staining results revealed that [99mTc]Tc-Me2P2 specifically targeted tumor hypoxic regions. The SPECT/CT imaging results showed that [99mTc]Tc-Me2P2 could target the tumor site. [99mTc]Tc-Me2P2 may become a potential hypoxia imaging agent.

Synthesis and bioevaluation of the cyclopentadienyl tricarbonyl technetium-99m 2-nitroimidazole derivatives for tumor hypoxia imaging.

Hypoxia imaging agents can play an important role in the tumor treatment by avoiding the worse effect of radiotherapy and chemotherapy due to the tumor hypoxia. Due to the small size and easy coordination, tricarbonyl technetium-99m can be used to label a wide range of imaging agents. In this work, the tricarbonyl 99mTc labeled small-sized hypoxia imaging agents containing 2-nitroimidazoles were prepared, which have different carbon chain lengths between cyclopentadienyl and 2-nitroimidazole, and which have one or two 2-nitroimidazole groups. The results of S180 cell experiment and biodistribution indicated that these molecules have different hypoxic selectivity. When contains one 2-nitroimidazole, as the carbon chain lengthens, which means the molecular volume becomes larger, hypoxia cellular uptake and selectivity decrease in S180 cell uptake experiment. In biodistribution study in mice bearing S180 tumor, Tc-2 (1-cyclopentadienyl-5-(2-nitro-1H-imidazol-1-yl)-pentan-1-one tricarbonyl 99mTc complex), which has intermediate carbon chain, is better due to the more complex factors. Its tumor/blood (T/B) ratio is 3.56 ± 0.25, tumor/muscle(T/M) ratio is 1.73 ± 0.29 and tumor uptake is 2.23 ± 0.24%ID/g at 2 h. Comparing to other tricarbonyl technetium complexes containing one 2-nitroimidazole, the complexes in this work have an advantage in tumor/blood ratio and tumor uptake. This suggests that the small-volume cyclopentadienyl may have an advantage when used as a ligand. When contains two 2-nitroimidazole groups, the complex, 1-cyclopentadienyl-5-di(2-(2-nitro-1H-imidazol-1-yl)ethyl)amino-pentan-1-one tricarbonyl 99mTc complex (Tc-4), has the better results in the cell experiment than those which contain one 2-nitroimidazole group. Thus the hypoxia imaging agent contains two 2-nitroimidazole groups is more advantageous, but further modifications of Tc-4 are needed to improve its clearance rate in the blood, because the increased lipophilicity leads to a decrease in the T/B ratio of Tc-4. In conclusion, small volume hypoxia imaging agents with two 2-nitroimidazole groups may be the trend of development.

Radiolabeling and evaluation of a novel [99mTcN]2+ complex with deferoxamine dithiocarbamate as a potential agent for bacterial infection imaging.

In order to find a 99mTc-labeled deferoxamine radiotracer for bacterial infection imaging, deferoxamine dithiocarbamate (DFODTC) was successfully synthesized and it was radiolabeled with [99mTcN]2+ core to prepare the 99mTcN(DFODTC)2 complex. 99mTcN(DFODTC)2 was obtained with high radiochemical purity without further purification. The complex was lipophilic and exhibited good in vitro stability. According to the result of bacterial binding study, the binding of 99mTcN(DFODTC)2 to bacteria was specific. Biodistribution in mice study indicated that 99mTcN(DFODTC)2 had a higher uptake in bacterial infection tissues than in turpentine-induced abscesses at 120 min after injection, which showed that the radiotracer could differentiate between bacterial infection and sterile inflammation. SPECT/CT images showed that there was a clear accumulation in infection sites, suggesting that 99mTcN(DFODTC)2 could be a potential bacterial infection imaging radiotracer.

Oxorhenium(V) and Oxotechnetium(V) Complexes of N3S Tetradentate Ligands with a Styrylpyridyl Functional Group: Toward Imaging Agents to Assist in the Diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is associated with the presence of amyloid plaques in the brain mainly comprised of aggregated forms of amyloid-ß (Aß). Molecules radiolabeled with technetium-99m that cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and selectively bind to Aß plaques have the potential to assist in the diagnosis of AD using single-photon emission computed tomography imaging. In this work, three new tetradentate ligands of pyridyl, amide, amine and thiol donors, featuring a styrylpyridyl group that is known to interact with amyloid plaques, were prepared. The new ligands formed charge-neutral and lipophilic complexes with the [Tc═O]3+ and [Re═O]3+ motifs, and two rhenium complexes were characterized by X-ray crystallography. The rhenium(V) complexes interact with synthetic Aß1-40 and amyloid plaques on human brain tissue. Two of the new ligands were radiolabeled with 99mTc using a kit-based approach, and their biodistribution in wild-type mice was evaluated. The presence of amide donors in the tetradentate ligand increased the stability of the respective [Tc═O]3+ complexes but reduced brain uptake. While the complexes were able to cross the BBB, the degree of uptake in the brain was not sufficient to justify further investigation of these complexes.

Synthesis and evaluation of [99mTcN]2+ core and [99mTcO]3+ core labeled complexes with 4-nitroimidazole xanthate derivative for tumor hypoxia imaging.

A 4-nitroimidazole xanthate ligand (NMXT) was synthesized and radiolabeled with [99mTcN]2+ core and [99mTcO]3+ core to obtain 99mTcN-NMXT and 99mTcO-NMXT, respectively. The two 99mTc-complexes were prepared with high radiochemical purity and had good stability. The partition coefficient results indicated both of them were hydrophilic, and cellular uptake studies showed they exhibited good hypoxic selectivity. From the biodistribution study results, 99mTcO-NMXT showed more favourable tumor uptake (1.73 ± 0.14 ID%/g) and higher tumor/muscle ratio (7.01 ± 0.16) than 99mTcN-NMXT at 4 h post-injection. Single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) imaging study of 99mTcO-NMXT showed there was a visible accumulation in tumor site, suggesting it would be a promising candidate as a tumor hypoxia imaging agent.

Synthesis and evaluation of novel technetium-99m-hydroxamamide complex based on imidazothiadiazole sulfonamide targeting carbonic anhydrase-IX for tumor imaging.

Carbonic anhydrase-IX (CA-IX) is an attractive target for detecting tumors associated with a poor prognosis. We previously reported a [99mTc]hydroxamamide complex based on ureidosulfonamide as a CA-IX ligand ([99mTc]URB2A), which showed a favorable affinity for CA-IX high-expressing cells in vitro and tumors in vivo; however, radioactivity retention in the blood pool suggested a high background signal on imaging. To improve the pharmacokinetics of [99mTc]URB2A, in this study, we designed and synthesized [99mTc]ISB2 based on imidazothiadiazole sulfonamide, which exhibited greater CA-IX affinity and faster clearance from the blood pool than ureidosulfonamide in studies using corresponding 111In-labeled compounds, and evaluated its utility for CA-IX imaging. In an in vitro cell binding assay, [99mTc]ISB2 markedly bound to CA-IX high-expressing (HT-29) cells; moreover, its binding was greater than that of [99mTc]URB2A. In an in vivo biodistribution assay, [99mTc]ISB2 showed faster clearance from the blood pool than [99mTc]URB2A; however, lower HT-29 tumor accumulation was observed. Further structural modification of [99mTc]ISB2 to improve its stability may lead to the development of a useful [99mTc]hydroxamamide complex for CA-IX imaging.

Water-Soluble Rhenium Phosphine Complexes Incorporating the Ph2C(X) Motif (X = O-, NH-): Structural and Cytotoxicity Studies.

Reaction of [ReOCl3(PPh3)2] or [ReO2I(PPh3)2] with 2,2'-diphenylglycine (dpgH2) in refluxing ethanol afforded the air-stable complex [ReO(dpgH)(dpg)(PPh3)] (1). Treatment of [ReO(OEt)I2(PPh3)2] with 1,2,3-triaza-7-phosphaadamantane (PTA) afforded the complex [ReO(OEt)I2(PTA)2] (2). Reaction of [ReOI2(PTA)3] with dpgH2 led to the isolation of the complex [Re(NCPh2)I2(PTA)3]·0.5EtOH (3·0.5EtOH). A similar reaction but using [ReOX2(PTA)3] (X = Cl, Br) resulted in the analogous halide complexes [Re(NCPh2)Cl2(PTA)3]·2EtOH (4·2EtOH) and [Re(NCPh2)(PTA)3Br2]·1.6EtOH (5·1.6EtOH). Using benzilic acid (2,2'-diphenylglycolic acid, benzH) with 2 afforded the complex [ReO(benz)2(PTA)][PTAH]·EtOH (6·EtOH). The potential for the formation of complexes using radioisotopes with relatively short half-lives suitable for nuclear medicine applications by developing conditions for [Re(NCPh2)(dpg)I(PTA)3] (7)[ReO4]- in a 4 h time scale was investigated. A procedure for the technetium analog of complex [Re(NCPh2)I2(PTA)3] (3) from 99mTc[TcO4]- was then investigated. The molecular structures of 1-7 are reported; complexes 3-7 have been studied using in vitro cell assays (HeLa, HCT116, HT-29, and HEK 293) and were found to have IC50 values in the range of 29-1858 µM.

Zn Complex of Diaminedithiol Tetradentate Ligand as a Stable Precursor for 99mTc-Labeled Compounds.

The diaminedithiol (N2S2) tetradentate ligand constitutes a useful chelating molecule for preparing 99mTc-labeled compounds of high in vivo stability in high radiochemical yields. However, since the thiol groups in the N2S2 ligand are easy to be oxidized to disulfide bonds, they need to be protected with an appropriate protecting group, which hinders the broad applications of the N2S2 ligand for radiopharmaceuticals. In this study, a Zn chelate of N2S2 was evaluated as a precursor for purification-free 99mTc-labeled N2S2 under the mild and simple procedure. Zn-N2S2 was prepared by reacting Zn acetate with N2S2, and the Zn-N2S2 remained stable under aerobic conditions at room temperature. 99mTc-N2S2 was obtained over 90% radiochemical yields at room temperature by a one-pot reaction, consisting of Zn-N2S2 (10-5 M), 99mTcO4-, ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), and a reducing agent (Sn2+) at pH = 5.5 to 7.5. 99mTc-N2S2 was also obtained over 90% radiochemical yields when the reaction was conducted in the presence of an equimolar amount of IgG antibody. These findings indicate the Zn complex of N2S2 ligand constitutes a stable and useful precursor to prepare 99mTc-labeled N2S2 compounds in high yields under the mild and simple procedure.

Synthesis and Antimicrobial Evaluation of Some New Organic Tellurium Compounds Based on Pyrazole Derivatives.

A novel series of organic tellurium compounds based on pyrazole derivatives with a general formula of ArTeBr3 and Ar2TeBr2 [Ar = 2-(3-(4-substituted phenyl)-5-(2-chlorophenyl)-1H-pyrazol-1-yl)-3,5-dinitrophenyl] were obtained by the refluxing of corresponding aryl mercuric chlorides with TeBr4 in two different mole ratio of 1:1 and 2:1, respectively, in free-moisture dioxane solvent under an argon atmosphere. Compounds of ArTeBr3 and Ar2TeBr2 were reduced by the action of ethanolic solution of hydrazine hydrate obtained Ar2Te2 and Ar2Te, respectively. Reaction of Ar2Te2 with excess thionyl chloride or iodine gave the corresponding trihalides ArTeCl3 and ArTeI3, respectively while the reaction of Ar2Te with thionyl chloride or iodine gave the corresponding Ar2TeCl3 and Ar2TeI3, respectively. The structures were elucidated according to their elemental analysis of carbon, hydrogen and nitrogen (CHN) and some of the spectroscopic techniques such as infrared IR and nuclear magnetic resonance for 1H and 13C. The antimicrobial activity for all the synthetic compounds were assayed against both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria by using the agar diffusion method. The tellurated pyrazole derivatives showed a good degree against bacteria growth. In some cases, the antimicrobial activities of the synthetic compounds were better than amoxicillin.

Development of 99mTc-Labeled Human Serum Albumin with Prolonged Circulation by Chelate-then-Click Approach: A Potential Blood Pool Imaging Agent.

Technetium-99m-labeled human serum albumin (99mTc-HSA) has been utilized as a blood pool imaging agent in the clinic for several decades. However, 99mTc-HSA has a short circulation time, which is a critical shortcoming for a blood pool imaging agent. Herein, we developed a novel 99mTc-labeled HSA with a long circulation time using click chemistry and a chelator, 2,2'-dipicolylamine (DPA), (99mTc-DPA-HSA). Specifically, we examined the feasibility of copper-free strain-promoted alkyne-azide cycloaddition (SPAAC) for the incorporation of HSA to the [99mTc (CO)3(H2O)3]+ system by adopting a chelate-then-click approach. In this strategy, a potent chelate system, azide-functionalized DPA, was first complexed with [99mTc (CO)3(H2O)3]+, followed by the SPAAC click reaction with azadibenzocyclooctyne-functionalized HSA (ADIBO-HSA) under biocompatible conditions. Radiolabeling efficiency of azide-functionalized DPA (99mTc-DPA) was >98%. Click conjugation efficiency of 99mTc-DPA with ADIBO-HSA was between 76 and 99% depending on the number of ADIBO moieties attached to HSA. In whole-body in vivo single photon emission computed tomography images, the blood pool uptakes of 99mTc-DPA-HSA were significantly enhanced compared to those of 99mTc-HSA at 10 min, 2, and 6 h after the injection ( P < 0.001, 0.025, and 0.003, respectively). Furthermore, the blood activities of 99mTc-DPA-HSA were 8 times higher at 30 min and 10 times higher at 3 h after the injection compared to those of conventional 99mTc-HSA in ex vivo biodistribution experiment. The results exhibit the potential of 99mTc-DPA-HSA as a blood pool imaging agent and further illustrate the promise of the pre-labeling SPAAC approach for conjugation of heat-sensitive biological targeting vectors with [99mTc (CO)3(H2O)3]+.

Synthesis and biological evaluation of Tc-99m-cyclopentadienyltricarbonyl-technetium-labeled A-85380: An imaging probe for single-photon emission computed tomography investigation of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in the brain.

We have designed (S)-(5-(azetidin-2-ylmethoxy)pyridine-3-yl)methyl cyclopentadienyltricarbonyl technetium carboxylate ([99mTc]CPTT-A-E) with high affinity for nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) using (2(S)-azetidinylmethoxy)-pyridine (A-85380) as the lead compound to develop a Tc-99m-cyclopentadienyltricarbonyl-technetium (99mTc)-labeled nAChR imaging probe. Because technetium does not contain a stable isotope, cyclopentadienyltricarbonyl rhenium (CPTR) was synthesized by coordinating rhenium, which is a homologous element having the same coordination structure as technetium. Further, the binding affinity to nAChR was evaluated. CPTR-A-E exhibited a high binding affinity to nAChR (Ki = 0.55 nM). Through the radiosynthesis of [99mTc]CPTT-A-E, an objective compound could be obtained with a radiochemical yield of 33% and a radiochemical purity of greater than 97%. In vitro autoradiographic study of the brain exhibited that the local nAChR density strongly correlated with the amount of [99mTc]CPTT-A-E that was accumulated in each region of interest. Further, the in vivo evaluation of biodistribution revealed a higher accumulation of [99mTc]CPTT-A-E in the thalamus (characterized by the high nAChR density) when compared with that in the cerebellum (characterized by the low nAChR density). Although additional studies will be necessary to improve the uptake of [99mTc]CPTT-A-E to the brain, [99mTc]CPTT-A-E met the basic requirements for nAChR imaging.

Synthesis, physicochemical and biological evaluation of tacrine derivative labeled with technetium-99m and gallium-68 as a prospective diagnostic tool for early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease.

Design, physicochemical and biological studies of novel radioconjugates for the early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease, based on the newly synthesized tacrine derivatives were performed. Novel tacrine analogues were labeled with technetium-99m and gallium-68. For all obtained radioconjugates ([99mTc]Tc-Hynic-(tricine)2NH(CH2)ntacrine and [68Ga]Ga-DOTA-NH(CH2)9tacrine, where n = 2-9 denotes the number of methylene groups CH2) the studies of physicochemical properties (lipophilicity, stability in the presence of an excess of standard amino acids cysteine or histidine, human serum and in cerebrospinal fluid) were performed. For two selected radioconjugates [99mTc]Tc-Hynic-(tricine)2NH(CH2)9Tac and [68Ga]Ga-DOTA-NH(CH2)9tacrine (characterized with the highest lipophilicity values) the biological tests (inhibition of cholinesterases action, molecular docking and biodistribution studies) have been performed. All novel radioconjugates showed high stability in biological solutions used. Both selected radioconjugates proved to be good inhibitors of cholinesterases and be able to cross the blood-brain barrier. Radioconjugates [99mTc]Tc-Hynic-(tricine)2NH(CH2)9tacrine and [68Ga]Ga-DOTA-NH(CH2)9tacrine fulfil the conditions for application in nuclear medicine. Radiopharmaceutical [68Ga]Ga-DOTA-NH(CH2)9tacrine, due to increased accuracy and improved sensitivity in PET imaging, may be better potential diagnostic tool for early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease.

An improved kit formulation for one-pot synthesis of [99m Tc]Tc-HYNIC-E[c(RGDfK)]2 for routine clinical use in cancer imaging.

Radiolabeled Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) peptide derivatives have immense potential for non-invasive monitoring of malignancies overexpressing integrin αv ß3 receptors. Easy availability of suitable radiotracers would augment the utility of this class of molecular imaging agents. Towards this, the present article describes the development of an improved lyophilized kit for the routine clinical formulation of [99m Tc]Tc complex of HYNIC-conjugated dimeric cyclic RGD peptide derivative E-[c(RGDfK)]2 (E = glutamic acid, f = phenyl alanine, K = lysine) without using Sn2+ and systematic evaluation of its efficacy. Five batches of the kits were prepared, and [99m Tc]Tc-HYNIC-E[c(RGDfK)]2 radiotracer was synthesized with high radiochemical purity (98.6 ± 0.5%) and specific activity (124.8 GBq/µmol) using the kits. Biodistribution studies in C57BL/6 mice bearing melanoma tumor exhibited significant accumulation of the radiotracer in tumor (5.32 ± 0.56 %ID/g at 60 min p.i.), and this uptake was also found to be receptor-specific by blocking studies. Preliminary human clinical investigations carried out in 10 breast cancer patients revealed high radiotracer uptake in the tumor along with good tumor-to-background contrast. The developed kit formulation showed an exceptionally high shelf-life of at least 18 months. These results demonstrated promising attributes of the developed kit formulation and warrant more extensive clinical investigations.

Synthesis and biodistribution studies of 99m Tc labeled fatty acid derivatives prepared via "Click approach" for potential use in cardiac imaging.

123 I-Iodophenylpentadecanoic acid (IPPA) is a metabolic agent used in nuclear medicine for diagnosis of myocardial defects. Efforts are underway worldwide to develop a 99m Tc substitute of the above radiopharmaceutical for the aforementioned application. Herein, we report synthesis and biodistribution studies of 99m Tc labeled fatty acids (8, 11, and 15 carbons) obtained via "click chemistry" for its potential use in myocardial imaging. ω-Bromo fatty acids (8C/11C/15C) were synthetically modified at bromo terminal to introduce a heterocyclic triazole with glycine sidearm in a five step procedure. Modified fatty acids were subsequently radiolabeled with preformed [99m Tc(CO)3 ]+ synthon to yield the desired fatty acid complexes which were evaluated in Swiss mice. All the radiolabeled complexes were obtained with radiochemical purities >80%, as characterized by HPLC. Biodistribution studies of all three complexes in Swiss mice showed myocardial uptake of ~6-9% ID/g at 2 minutes post-injection, close to* I-IPPA (~9% ID/g). Complexes exhibited significant retention in the myocardium up to 30 minutes (~1% ID/g) but were lower to the standard agent (~7% ID/g). Similar uptake of activity in myocardium for the newly synthesized complexes in comparison to 125 I-IPPA along with favorable in vivo pharmacokinetics merits potential for the present "click" design of complexes for myocardial imaging.

Synthesis, optimization and biological evaluation of 99mTc-digoxin as possible cardiac imaging agent.

Heart imaging radiopharmaceuticals could improve the diagnostic value of routine heart scanning for detecting cardiac disorders. The aim of the study was to prepare high radiochemical purity 99mTc-Digoxin in a yield of about 98%. The optimal conditions for labelling were as follows: 100µg of Digoxin, 2µg of SnCl2•2H2O, room temperature (25±1°C), reaction retention time of 30 min at pH 7. Under these conditions, the radiochemical yield of 99mTc-Digoxin reaches 98%. In vivo bio distribution was performed in normal Swiss Albino mice at different time intervals after administration of 99mTc-Digoxin.Scintigraphic study of 99mTc-Digoxin was performed in rabbits. The heart uptake of 99mTc-Digoxin was sufficiently high and thus may be a potential myocardial imaging radiopharmaceutical applicable in cardiology.

Comparative assessment of a 99mTc labeled H1299.2-HYNIC peptide bearing two different co-ligands for tumor-targeted imaging.

Peptides are a class of targeting agents that bind to cancer-specific cell surfaces. Since they specifically target cancer cells, they could be used as molecular imaging tools. In this study, the 15-mer peptide Ac-H1299.2 (YAAWPASGAWTGTAP) was conjugated with HYNIC via lysine amino acid on C-terminus and labeled with 99mTc using tricine and EDDA/tricine as the co-ligands. These radiotracers were evaluated for potential utilization in diagnostic imaging of ovarian cancer cells (SKOV-3). The cell-specificity of these radiolabeled peptides was determined based on their binding on an ovarian cancer cell line (SKOV-3), and displaying a low affinity for lung adenocarcinoma cell line (A549) and breast cancer cell line (MCF7). Biodistribution studies were conducted in normal mice as well as in nude mice bearing SKOV-3 ovarian cancer xenografts. HYNIC-peptide was labeled with 99mTc with more than 99% efficiency and showed high stability in buffer and serum. We observed nanomolar binding affinities for both radiolabeled peptides. The tumor uptakes were 3.27%±0.46% and 1.55%±0.20% for tricine and 2.34±1.1% and 1.09%±0.18% for EDDA/tricine at 1 and 4h after injection, respectively. A higher tumor to background ratio and lower radioactivity in the blood were observed for EDDA/tricine co-ligands, leading to clear tumor visualization in imaging with injection of this peptide. This new 99mTc-labeled peptide selectively targeted ovarian cancer and introduction of a (EDDA/tricine) as a co-ligand improved the pharmacokinetics of 99mTc-labeled H1299.2 for tumor imaging in animals.

Novel 99mTc(III) Complexes [99mTcCl(CDO)(CDOH)2B-R] (CDOH2 = Cyclohexanedione Dioxime) Useful as Radiotracers for Heart Imaging.

In this study, we evaluated seven new 99mTc(III) complexes [99mTcCl(CDO)(CDOH)2B-R] (99mTc-2Fboroxime: R = 2-formylfuran-3-yl (2F); 99mTc-3Fboroxime: R = furan-3-yl (3F); 99mTc-5Fboroxime: R = 5-formyfuran-2-yl (5F); 99mTc-HPboroxime: R = 6-hydroxylpyridin-2-yl (HP); 99mTc-MPYboroxime: R = 5-methoxypyridin-3-yl (MPY); 99mTc-PMboroxime: R = 1,5-pyrimidin-3-yl (PM); and 99mTc-4PYboroxime: R = pyridin-4-yl (4PY)) for their potential as heart imaging agents. All new 99mTc(III) radiotracers except 99mTc-2Fboroxime were prepared with high radiochemical purity (RCP > 95%). The low RCP (∼75%) for 99mTc-2Fboroxime is most likely caused by steric hindrance from the 3-formyl group. Biodistribution and imaging studies were performed in SD rats. Planar image quantification was performed to compare their myocardial retention times. We found that the myocardial washout curves of new 99mTc(III) radiotracers were best fitted the biexponential decay function. The AUC (area under the curve) values followed the general trend: 99mTc-5Fboroxime (129 ± 6) > 99mTc-3Fboroxime (114 ± 11) > 99mTc-Teboroxime (104 ± 16) > 99mTc-MPYboroxime (92 ± 18) > 99mTc-4PYboroxime (77 ± 10) > 99mTc-PMboroxime (68 ± 14) ≈ 99mTc-HPboroxime (62 ± 14). The 2 min heart uptake values from biodistribution studies follow the ranking order of 99mTc-5Fboroxime (3.75 ± 0.15%ID/g) ≈ 99mTc-MPYboroxime (3.73 ± 0.24%ID/g) > 99mTc-PMboroxime (3.47 ± 0.15%ID/g) ≈ 99mTc-3Fboroxime ≈ (3.25 ± 0.77%ID/g). The 5 min heart uptake of 99mTc-5Fboroxime (3.91 ± 0.09%ID/g) was almost identical to its 2 min heart uptake (3.75 ± 0.15%ID/g), and its 15 min heart uptake value (2.83 ± 0.08%ID/g) compared well to the 2 min heart uptake of 99mTc-Teboroxime (3.00 ± 0.37%ID/g). It took ∼5 min for 99mTc-5Fboroxime to approach the 1 min heart uptake value of 99mTc-Teboroxime (∼3.5% ID/g) and ∼9.5 min to reach the 2 min heart uptake value of 99mTc-Teboroxime (∼3.0% ID/g). The best image acquisition window is 0-5 min for 99mTc-5Fboroxime. High-quality single-photon emission computed tomography images of the rat hearts were acquired in any of the 5 min window over the first 20 min after its administration. 99mTc-5Fboroxime has significant advantages over 99mTc-Teboroxime as the radiotracer for myocardial perfusion imaging.

Modulation of in vivo distribution through chelator: Synthesis and evaluation of a 2-nitroimidazole-dipicolylamine-(99m)Tc(CO)3 complex for detecting tumor hypoxia.

Previous studies have clearly demonstrated strong correlation between in vivo distribution and blood clearance of radiopharmaceuticals for the detection of hypoxia. Present study describes an attempt to improve the in vivo distribution of a previously reported 2-nitroimidazole-(99m)Tc(CO)3 complex by tuning its blood clearance pattern through structural modification of the ligand. Herein, a 2-nitroimidazole-dipicolylamine ligand (2-nitroimidazole-DPA) was synthesized in a two-step procedure and radiolabeled with (99m)Tc(CO)3 core. Subsequently, the complex was evaluated in Swiss mice bearing fibrosarcoma tumor. As intended by its design, 2-nitroimidazole-DPA-(99m)Tc(CO)3 complex was more lipophilic than previously reported 2-nitroimidazole-DETA-(99m)Tc(CO)3 complex (DETA-diethylenetriamine) and showed slower blood clearance. Consequently it showed higher tumor uptake than 2-nitroimidazole-DETA-(99m)Tc(CO)3 complex. Significantly, despite structural modifications, other parameters such as the tumor to blood ratio and tumor to muscle ratio of the 2-nitroimidazole-DPA-(99m)Tc(CO)3 complex remained comparable to that of 2-nitroimidazole-DETA-(99m)Tc(CO)3 complex. Present study demonstrates the feasibility of structural modifications for improving in vivo tumor uptake of hypoxia detecting radiopharmaceuticals. This might encourage researchers to improve suboptimal properties of a potential radiopharmaceuticals rather than ignoring it altogether.