Gallium and indium complexes with new hexadentate bis(semicarbazone) and bis(thiosemicarbazone) chelators.

The synthesis of two new hexadentate potentially tetra-anionic acyclic chelators, an N2O4-donor bis(semicarbazone) (H4bsc) and an N2O2S2-donor bis(thiosemicarbazone) (H4btsc), is described. Coordination reactions of the ligands with gallium and indium precursors were investigated and yielded the complexes [Ga(Hbsc)] (1) and [In(Hbtsc)] (2), respectively. Ligands and complexes structures were confirmed by several techniques, including FTIR, NMR (1H, 13C, COSY, HSQC), ESI(+)-MS and single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. The radioactive congeners [67Ga(Hbsc)] (1*) and [111In(Hbtsc)] (2*) were also synthesized and their radiolabeling yield and radiochemical purity were certified by HPLC and ITLC analyses. Biodistribution assays in groups of CD-1 mice showed a high uptake of both radiocomplexes in liver and intestine where 1* presented higher retention. In vitro and in vivo assays revealed higher stability of 1* compared with 2*, namely in the blood. The results suggest that radiocomplex 1* is a candidate for further investigation as it could be prepared in high yields (>95%), at low temperature (20-25 °C) and at fast reaction time (15 min), which are very desirable synthesis conditions for potential new radiopharmaceuticals.

Synthesis, in silico, in vitro, and in vivo investigation of 5-[¹¹C]methoxy-substituted sunitinib, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor of VEGFR-2.

Sunitinib (SU11248) is a highly potent tyrosine kinase inhibitor targeting vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR). Radiolabeled inhibitors of receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) might be useful tools for monitoring RTKs levels in tumor tissue giving valuable information for anti-angiogenic therapy. Herein we report the synthesis of 5-methoxy-sunitinib 5 and its (11)C-radiolabeled analog [(11)C]-5. The non-radioactive reference compound 5 was prepared by Knoevenagel condensation of 5-methoxy-2-oxindole with the corresponding substituted 5-formyl-1H-pyrrole. A binding constant (K(d)) of 20 nM for 5 was determined by competition binding assay against VEGFR-2. In addition, the binding mode of sunitinib and its 5-methoxy substituted derivative was studied by flexible docking simulations. These studies revealed that the substitution of the fluorine at position 5 of the oxindole scaffold by a methoxy group did not affect the inhibitor orientation, but affected the electrostatic and van der Waals interactions of the ligand with residues near the DFG motif of VEGFR-2. 5-[(11)C]methoxy-sunitinib ([(11)C]-5) was synthesized by reaction of the desmethyl precursor with [(11)C]CH(3)I in the presence of DMF and NaOH in 17 ± 3% decay-corrected radiochemical yield at a specific activity of 162-205 GBq/µmol (EOS). In vivo stability studies of [(11)C]-5 in rat blood showed that more than 70% of the injected compound was in blood stream, 60 min after administration.