IAEA contribution to the development of 64Cu radiopharmaceuticals for theranostic applications.

Copper-64 is a very attractive radioisotope with unique nuclear properties that allow using it as both a diagnostic and therapeutic agent, thus providing an almost ideal example of a theranostic radionuclide. A characteristic of Cu-64 stems from the intrinsic biological nature of copper ions that play a fundamental role in a large number of cellular processes. Cu-64 is a radionuclide that reflects the natural biochemical pathways of Cu-64 ions, therefore, can be exploited for the detection and therapy of certain malignancies and metabolic diseases. Beside these applications of Cu-64 ions, this radionuclide can be also used for radiolabelling bifunctional chelators carrying a variety of pharmacophores for targeting different biological substrates. These include peptide-based substrates and immunoconjugates as well as small-molecule bioactive moieties. Fueled by the growing interest of Member States (MS) belonging to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) community, a dedicated Coordinated Research Project (CRP) was initiated in 2016, which recruited thirteen participating MS from four continents. Research activities and collaborations between the participating countries allowed for collection of an impressive series of results, particularly on the production, preclinical evaluation and, in a few cases, clinical evaluation of various 64Cu-radiopharmaceuticals that may have potential impact on future development of the field. Since this CRP was finalized at the beginning of 2020, this short review summarizes outcomes, outputs and results of this project with the purpose to propagate to other MS and to the whole scientific community, some of the most recent achievements on this novel class of theranostic 64Cu-pharmaceuticals.

Crystal structure of bis-[(1-ammonio-1-phosphono-eth-yl)phospho-nato]tetra-aqua-cadmium dihydrate: a powder X-ray diffraction study.

In the title compound, [CdL 2(H2O)4]·2H2O [L = (1-ammonio-1-phosphono-eth-yl)phospho-nate, C2H8NO6P2 (-)], the Cd(II) ion is situated on an inversion centre being coordinated by four aqua mol-ecules in the equatorial plane and two phosphonate O atoms from two deprotonated L ligands in the axial positions in a distorted octa-hedral geometry. The asymmetric unit contains one-half of the complex mol-ecule and one lattice water mol-ecule. The ligand L exists in a zwitterionic form, with a positive charge on the NH3 group and a negative charge on the O atom of the non-coordinating phospho-nate group, and with an intra-molecular O-H⋯O inter-action forming an S(6) ring motif and two intra-molecular N-H⋯O inter-actions each generating an S(5) ring motif. In the crystal, N-H⋯O and O-H⋯O hydrogen bonds link the complex mol-ecules into a three-dimensional network in which the voids of 38 Å(3) are filled with ordered lattice water mol-ecules, which are also involved in O-H⋯O hydrogen bonding.

Poly[[µ-(1-azaniumylethane-1,1-diyl)bis(hydrogen phosphonato)]sodium]: a powder X-ray diffraction study.

The title two-dimensional coordination polymer, [Na(C2H8NO6P2)]n, was characterized using powder X-ray diffraction data and its structure refined using the Rietveld method. The asymmetric unit contains one Na⁺ cation and one (1-azaniumylethane-1,1-diyl)bis(hydrogen phosphonate) anion. The central Na⁺ cation exhibits distorted octahedral coordination geometry involving two deprotonated O atoms, two hydroxy O atoms and two double-bonded O atoms of the bisphosphonate anion. Pairs of sodium-centred octahedra share edges and the pairs are in turn connected to each other by the biphosphonate anion to form a two-dimensional network parallel to the (001) plane. The polymeric layers are connected by strong O-H∙∙∙O hydrogen bonding between the hydroxy group and one of the free O atoms of the bisphosphonate anion to generate a three-dimensional network. Further stabilization of the crystal structure is achived by N-H∙∙∙O and O-H∙∙∙O hydrogen bonding.

Poly[[µ-(1-ammonio-ethane-1,1-di-yl)bis-(hydrogenphospho-nato)]diaquachloridodisodium]: a powder X-ray diffraction study.

The title compound, [Na(2)(C(2)H(8)NO(6)P(2))Cl(H(2)O)(2)](n), has a polymeric two-dimensional structure extending parallel to (001). The asymmetric unit contains two Na(+) cations located on a centre of symmetry and on a mirror plane, respectively, one half of a bis-phospho-nate anion (the entire anion is completed by mirror symmetry), one chloride anion on a mirror plane and one water mol-ecule in general positions. The two Na(+) cations exhibit distorted octa-hedral NaCl(2)O(4) coordination polyhedra, each consisting of two deprotonated O atoms of the bis-phospho-nate anion, of two water mol-ecules and of two chloride anions. Strong O-H⋯O hydrogen bonds between the -OH group and one of the free O atoms of the bis-phospho-nate anion connect adjacent layers along [100], supported by N-H⋯Cl inter-actions. Intra-layer O-H⋯O and N-H⋯O hydrogen bonds are also observed.

Powder X-ray study of racemic (2RS,3RS)-5-amino-3-[4-(3-methoxyphenyl)piperazin-1-yl]-1,2,3,4-tetrahydronaphthalen-2-ol.

The structure of the title benzovesamicol analogue, C(21)H(27)N(3)O(2), an important compound for the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease, has been determined by X-ray powder diffraction. The title compound was firstly synthesized and characterized by spectroscopic methods (FT-IR, and (13)C and (1)H NMR). The compound is a racemic mixture of enantiomers which crystallizes in the monoclinic system in a centrosymmetric space group (P2(1)/c). Crystallography, in particular powder X-ray diffraction, was pivotal in revealing that the enantio-resolution did not succeed. The piperazine ring is in a chair conformation, while the cyclohexene ring assumes a half-chair conformation. The crystal packing is dominated by intermolecular O-H···N hydrogen bonding which links molecules along the c direction.

Powder X-ray study of racemic (2RS,3RS)-5-amino-3-(4-phenylpiperazin-1-yl)-1,2,3,4-tetrahydronaphthalen-2-ol.

The title compound, C(20)H(25)N(3)O, an important precursor for the preparation of benzovesamicol analogues for the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease, has been synthesized and characterized by FT-IR, and (1)H and (13)C NMR spectroscopic analyses. The crystal structure was analysed using powder diffraction as no suitable single crystal was obtained. The piperazine ring has a chair conformation, while the cyclohexene ring assumes a half-chair conformation. The crystal packing is mediated by weak contacts, principally by complementary intermolecular N-H···O hydrogen bonds that connect successive molecules into a chain. Further stabilization is provided by weak C-H···N contacts and by a weak intermolecular C-H···π interaction.

2,2,2-Trifluoro-N-(1a,2,7,7a-tetrahydronaphtho[2,3-b]oxiren-3-yl)acetamide by X-ray powder diffraction.

The title compound, C(12)H(10)F(3)NO(2), an important precursor in the preparation of benzovesamicol analogues for the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease, was prepared by the epoxidation of 5,8-dihydronaphthalen-1-amine using 3-chloroperoxybenzoic acid. The structure was determined by X-ray powder diffraction, multinuclear NMR spectroscopy and FT-IR spectroscopy. A pair of molecules form intermolecular N-H...O hydrogen bonds, involving the amino and oxirene groups, to produce a dimer.

Synthesis and in vitro evaluation of N-substituted aza-trozamicol analogs as vesicular acetylcholine transporter ligands.

As dysfunction of cerebral cholinergic neurotransmission is one of the main features in patients with Alzheimer's disease, in vivo imaging of the vesicular acetylcholine transporter (VAChT) can be of great value for the early diagnosis of this disease. Two series of positional isomers of m-iodobenzyltrozamicol (MIBT): 3-hydroxy-4-(N-phenylpiperazinyl)piperidine and 4-hydroxy-3-(N-phenylpiperazinyl)piperidine substituted by benzyl, aryl, alkyl or vinyl groups at the nitrogen have been synthesized. These compounds have been evaluated in vitro by competition studies and five compounds (N-benzyl derivatives) showed high affinity for the VAChT (11nM

Synthesis and in vitro evaluation of new benzovesamicol analogues as potential imaging probes for the vesicular acetylcholine transporter.

Our goal was to synthesize new stereospecific benzovesamicol analogues, which could potentially be used as SPECT or PET radioligands for the vesicular acetylcholine transporter (VAChT). This paper describes the chemical synthesis, resolution and determination of binding affinity for four enantiomeric pairs of derivatives. Their intrinsic affinities were determined by competition against binding of [3H]vesamicol to human VAChT. Of the eight enantiomers, (E)-(R,R)-5-AOIBV [(R,R)-3], and (R,R)-5-FPOBV [(R,R)-4] displayed the highest binding affinities for VAChT (Kd=0.45 and 0.77 nM, respectively), which indicated that an elongation of the chain from 5-idodo as in the case of 5-iodobenzovesamicol (5-IBVM), to a 5-(E)-3-iodoallyloxy or 5-fluoropropoxy substituent, as in 5-AOIBV and 5-FPOBV, respectively, was very well tolerated at the vesamicol binding site. The enantiomer (R,R)-4-MAIBV [(R,R)-16], which retains the basic structure of (-)-5-IBVM but possess an additional aminomethyl substituent in the 4-position of the piperidine ring, displayed lower binding affinity (Kd=8.8 nM). Nevertheless, the result suggests that substitution at this position may be an interesting alternative to investigate for development of new benzovesamicol analogues. As expected, the corresponding (S,S) enantiomers displayed lower Kd values, they were approximately 10-fold lower in the case of (S,S)-5-FPOBV (Kd=8.4 nM) and (E)-(S,S)-5-AOIBV (Kd=4.3 nM). (R,R)-3, and (R,R)-4 showed the same high affinity for VAChT as (-)-5-IBVM and may be suitable as imaging agents of cholinergic nerve terminals.