Distribution of non-ceruloplasmin-bound copper after i.v. 64Cu injection studied with PET/CT in patients with Wilson disease.

Background & Aims: In Wilson disease (WD), copper accumulation and increased non-ceruloplasmin-bound copper in plasma lead to liver and brain pathology. To better understand the fate of non-ceruloplasmin-bound copper, we used PET/CT to examine the whole-body distribution of intravenously injected 64-copper (64Cu). Methods: Eight patients with WD, five heterozygotes, and nine healthy controls were examined by dynamic PET/CT for 90 min and static PET/CT up to 20 h after injection. We measured 64Cu activity in blood and tissue and quantified the kinetics by compartmental analysis. Results: Initially, a large fraction of injected 64Cu was distributed to extrahepatic tissues, especially skeletal muscle. Thus, across groups, extrahepatic tissues accounted for 45-58% of the injected dose (%ID) after 10 min, and 45-55% after 1 h. Kinetic analysis showed rapid exchange of 64Cu between blood and muscle as well as adipose tissue, with 64Cu retention in a secondary compartment, possibly mitochondria. This way, muscle and adipose tissue may protect the brain from spikes in non-ceruloplasmin-bound copper. Tiny amounts of cerebral 64Cu were detected (0.2%ID after 90 min and 0.3%ID after 6 h), suggesting tight control of cerebral copper in accordance with a cerebral clearance that is 2-3-fold lower than in muscle. Compared to controls, patients with WD accumulated more hepatic copper 6-20 h after injection, and also renal copper at 6 h. Conclusion: Non-ceruloplasmin-bound copper is initially distributed into a number of tissues before being redistributed slowly to the eliminating organ, the liver. Cerebral uptake of copper is extremely slow and likely highly regulated. Our findings provide new insights into the mechanisms of copper control. Impact and implications: Maintaining non-ceruloplasmin-bound copper within the normal range is an important treatment goal in WD as this "free" copper is considered toxic to the liver and brain. We found that intravenously injected non-ceruloplasmin-bound copper quickly distributed to a number of tissues, especially skeletal muscle, subcutaneous fat, and the liver, while uptake into the brain was slow. This study offers new insights into the mechanisms of copper control, which may encourage further research into potential new treatment targets. Clinical trial number: 2016-001975-59.

Intravenous and oral copper kinetics, biodistribution and dosimetry in healthy humans studied by [64Cu]copper PET/CT.

PURPOSE: Copper is essential for enzymatic processes throughout the body. [64Cu]copper (64Cu) positron emission tomography (PET) has been investigated as a diagnostic tool for certain malignancies, but has not yet been used to study copper homeostasis in humans. In this study, we determined the hepatic removal kinetics, biodistribution and radiation dosimetry of 64Cu in healthy humans by both intravenous and oral administration. METHODS: Six healthy participants underwent PET/CT studies with intravenous or oral administration of 64Cu. A 90 min dynamic PET/CT scan of the liver was followed by three whole-body PET/CT scans at 1.5, 6, and 20 h after tracer administration. PET data were used for estimation of hepatic kinetics, biodistribution, effective doses, and absorbed doses for critical organs. RESULTS: After intravenous administration, 64Cu uptake was highest in the liver, intestinal walls and pancreas; the gender-averaged effective dose was 62 ± 5 µSv/MBq (mean ± SD). After oral administration, 64Cu was almost exclusively taken up by the liver while leaving a significant amount of radiotracer in the gastrointestinal lumen, resulting in an effective dose of 113 ± 1 µSv/MBq. Excretion of 64Cu in urine and faeces after intravenous administration was negligible. Hepatic removal kinetics showed that the clearance of 64Cu from blood was 0.10 ± 0.02 mL blood/min/mL liver tissue, and the rate constant for excretion into bile or blood was 0.003 ± 0.002 min- 1. CONCLUSION: 64Cu biodistribution and radiation dosimetry are influenced by the manner of tracer administration with high uptake by the liver, intestinal walls, and pancreas after intravenous administration, while after oral administration, 64Cu is rapidly absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract and deposited primarily in the liver. Administration of 50 MBq 64Cu yielded images of high quality for both administration forms with radiation doses of approximately 3.1 and 5.7 mSv, respectively, allowing for sequential studies in humans. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: EudraCT no. 2016-001975-59. Registration date: 19/09/2016.

Electrochemical surface derivatization of glassy carbon by the reduction of triaryl- and alkyldiphenylsulfonium salts.

The range of materials susceptible to electrochemically assisted grafting onto carbon materials has been expanded to include a new group of compounds. This new approach is based on the reduction of symmetrical or unsymmetrical triarylsulfonium salts and alkyldiphenylsulfonium salts. Our findings suggest that it is possible to form layers of aryl moieties on the surface and that the unsymmetrical triarylsulfonium salts cleave upon reduction in a direction dictated by the substituent on the rings (i.e., (4-methoxyphenyl)diphenylsulfonium salt leads to a film made predominantly of phenyl groups, whereas (4-chlorophenyl)diphenylsulfonium salt leads to a mixture of phenyl and chlorophenyl groups). These relationships may be understood by considering the inductive nature of the substituent with regard to the aryl-S bonds and are supported by preparative experiments. Upon reduction, the alkyldiphenylsulfonium salts are found to cleave almost exclusively to an alkyl radical and diphenyl sulfide. As judged from the electrochemical blocking properties of the films made from such species, either relatively thick or compact films are formed. The mass spectrometric analysis indicates that the films are made of a combination of alkyl and aryl groups and possibly related structural derivatives. Importantly, our findings provide evidence that it is possible to graft electrode surfaces with reactive aryl radicals even using precursors reduced at potentials that are substantially more negative than the estimated reduction potential of the grafting radical.

Covalent grafting of glassy carbon electrodes with diaryliodonium salts: new aspects.

The applicability and versatility of the recently communicated procedure for the grafting of conducting carbon substrates by diaryliodonium salts is expanded. We have found that several types of organic arylic layers can be formed on the carbon surface and that the chemical functionalities of the thus formed layers can be varied extensively over electron withdrawing (for example, -NO2) to electron donating (for example, -OMe) groups. A comparative study involving the grafting of aryldiazonium salts reveals that, despite the two approaches being similar, iodonium salts exhibit spontaneous grafting to a significantly lower extent. Nevertheless, the grafted layer becomes less accessible to proton transport as visualized from a greater reluctance toward the reduction of surface-confined nitro groups to amino groups in acidic medium. Employment of unsymmetrical iodonium salts opens up the interesting possibility of forming organic films consisting of a mixture of two different aryl groups. Alternatively, such composite layers may be prepared by selecting iodonium and diazonium salts with comparable reduction properties. Analysis of the surfaces is carried out by means of cyclic voltammetry, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and ToF-SIMS (time-of-flight secondary-ion mass spectrometry). The ToF-SIMS analysis primarily serves to provide unambiguous evidence for the covalent attachment of the organic layers to the surface.

Immobilization of aryl and alkynyl groups onto glassy carbon surfaces by electrochemical reduction of iodonium salts.

A new versatile method has been developed for the electrochemically assisted grafting of carbon materials. The approach is based on the reduction of iodonium salts and allows the immobilization not only of aryl groups, such as phenyl or nitrophenyl, but also of alkynyl groups under mild conditions. In particular, the immobilization of alkynyl groups is important because such grafting cannot be accomplished using any other known reductive procedure. The electrochemical properties of the grafted surfaces with estimated coverages of (4-6) x 10(-)(10) mol cm(-)(2) are investigated against the ferrocene and Fe(CN)(6)(3)(-) solution probes. The analysis of the surfaces is carried out by means of cyclic voltammetry and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.