A facile synthesis of precursor for the σ-1 receptor PET radioligand [18 F]FTC-146 and its radiofluorination.

The σ-1 receptor is a non-opioid transmembrane protein involved in various human pathologies including neurodegenerative diseases, inflammation, and cancer. The previously published ligand [18 F]FTC-146 is among the most promising tools for σ-1 molecular imaging by positron emission tomography (PET), with a potential for application in clinical diagnostics and research. However, the published six- or four-step synthesis of the tosyl ester precursor for its radiosynthesis is complicated and time-consuming. Herein, we present a simple one-step precursor synthesis followed by a one-step fluorine-18 labeling procedure that streamlines the preparation of [18 F]FTC-146. Instead of a tosyl-based precursor, we developed a one-step synthesis of the precursor analog AM-16 containing a chloride leaving group for the SN 2 reaction with 18 F-fluoride. 18 F-fluorination of AM-16 led to a moderate decay-corrected radiochemical yield (RCY = 7.5%) with molar activity (Am ) of 45.9 GBq/µmol. Further optimization of this procedure should enable routine radiopharmaceutical production of this promising PET tracer.

{(S)-2-[({2-[1-(Anthracen-9-ylmeth-yl)pyrrolidine-2-carboxamido]-phen-yl}(phen-yl)methyl-idene)amino]-acetato(2-)-κ(4)N,N',N'',O(1)}nickel(II).

The title compound, [Ni(C(35)H(29)N(3)O(3))], includes a Schiff base ligand derived from (S)-1-[(anthracen-9-yl)meth-yl]-N-(2-benz-oyl-phen-yl)pyrrolidine-2-carboxamide and glycine. The Ni(II) atom is coordinated by three N atoms [Ni-N = 1.937 (3), 1.850 (3) and 1.850 (3) Å] and one O atom [Ni-O = 1.859 (2) Å], resulting in a pseudo-square-planar coordination environment.

[2-((R)-{2-[(S)-1-Benzylpyrrolidin-2-ylcarbonylazanidyl]-phen-yl}(phen-yl)methyl-idene-amino)-4-hy-droxy-butano-ato-κN,N',N'',O]nickel(II) toluene disolvate.

The central Ni atom in the title compound, [Ni(C(29)H(29)N(3)O(4))]·2C(7)H(8), is coordinated in a distorted square-planar environment by three N atoms [Ni-N = 1.942 (3), 1.843 (3) and 1.853 (3) Å] and one O atom [1.868 (3) Å] of the tetradentate ligand. The conformation of the hy-droxy-butano-ate side chain is controlled by an inter-molecular hydrogen bond.

Characterization of Ni(II) complexes of Schiff bases of amino acids and (S)-N-(2-benzoylphenyl)-1-benzylpyrrolidine-2-carboxamide using ion trap and QqTOF electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry.

This work demonstrates the application of electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) using two different mass analyzers, ion trap and hybrid quadrupole time-of-flight (QqTOF) mass analyzer, for the structural characterization of Ni(II) complexes of Schiff bases of (S)-N-(2-benzoylphenyl)-1-benzylpyrrolidine-2-carboxamide with different amino acids. ESI enables the determination of molecular weight on the basis of rather simple positive-ion ESI mass spectra containing only protonated molecules and adducts with sodium or potassium ions. Fragmentation patterns are characterized by tandem mass spectrometric experiments, where both tandem mass analyzers provide complementary information. QqTOF data are used for the determination of elemental composition of individual ions due to mass accuracies always better than 3 ppm with the external calibration, while multistage tandem mass spectra obtained by the ion trap are suitable for studying the fragmentation paths. The novel aspect of our approach is the combination of mass accuracies and relative abundances of all isotopic peaks in isotopic clusters providing more powerful data for the structural characterization of organometallic compounds containing polyisotopic elements. The benefit of relative and absolute mean mass accuracies is demonstrated on the example of studied Ni(II) complexes.

{2-[(S)-({2-[(S)-1-Benzyl-pyrrolidine-2-carboxamido]phen-yl}(phen-yl)methyl-ene)amino]-4-hydroxy-butanoato-κN,N',N'',O}nickel(II).

The central Ni atom of the title compound, [Ni(C(29)H(29)N(3)O(4))], is coordinated by three N atoms [Ni-N = 1.955 (2), 1.844 (2) and 1.872 (2) Å] and by one O atom [Ni-O = 1.862 (2) Å] in a pseudo-square-planar geometry. The conformation of the hydroxy-butanoate side chain is controlled by a strong intra-molecular hydrogen bond (H⋯O = 1.84 Å).

Off-line combination of reversed-phase liquid chromatography and laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry with seamless post-source decay fragment ion analysis for characterization of square-planar nickel(II) complexes.

Characterization of square-planar nickel(II) complexes of the Schiff base of (S)-N-benzylproline (2-benzoylphenyl)amide and various amino acids that are used as efficient alpha-amino acids synthons was carried out using laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LDI-TOF MS) in off-line combination with liquid chromatography. A mixture of four square-planar nickel(II) complexes was separated using reversed-phase liquid chromatography (RPLC) and the separated fractions from the chromatographic run were spotted on the metal target directly from the column outlet using a lab-made sample deposition device. The separated fractions were then analyzed by LDI-TOF MS. Seamless postsource decay (sPSD) fragment ion analysis was used for their structural characterization, which made possible the confirmation of expected chemical structures of the analyzed compounds. The off-line combination of the separation by RPLC and analysis by LDI-TOF MS allowed successful separation, sensitive detection and structure elucidation of the square-planar nickel(II) complexes.

HIV-1 Epidemiology, Genetic Diversity, and Primary Drug Resistance in the Tyumen Oblast, Russia.

Introduction. Specific molecular epidemic features of HIV infection in Tyumen Oblast (TO), Russia, were studied. Methods. The genome sequences encoding HIV-1 protease-reverse transcriptase, integrase, and major envelope protein were examined for 72 HIV-1 specimens isolated from the TO resident infected in 2000-2015. Results. The recorded prevalence of HIV-1 subtype A (A1) is 93.1%; HIV-1 subtype B continues to circulate in MSM risk group (1.4%). Solitary instances of HIV-1 recombinant forms, CRF63_02A1 (1.4%) and CRF03_AB (1.4%), were detected as well as two cases of HIV-1 URF63_A1 (2.8%). Phylogenetic analysis showed no HIV-1 clustering according to the duration of infection and risk groups but revealed different epidemic networks confirming that HIV infection spread within local epidemic foci. A high incidence of CXCR4-tropic HIV-1 variants and a higher rate of secondary mutations influencing the virus fitness (K20R, L10V, and I) are observed among the virus specimens isolated from newly infected individuals. Conclusions. The current HIV-1 epidemic in TO develops within the local epidemic networks. Similar to the previous period, HIV-1 subtype A is predominant in TO with sporadic cases of importation of HIV-1 recombinant forms circulating in adjacent areas.

Electronic structure of the nickel(II) complex of the Schiff base of (S)-N-(2-benzoylphenyl)-1-benzylprolinamide and glycine.

The experimental charge density of the Ni(II) complex of the Schiff base of (S)-N-(2-benzoylphenyl)-1-benzylprolinamide and glycine was derived from high-resolution single-crystal X-ray diffraction data (lambda = 0.5604 A) at low temperature (100 K) with synchrotron radiation at the beamline F1 using a CCD area detector. The central Ni atom is pseudo-square-planar coordinated by three N atoms [1.9414 (3), 1.8559 (3) and 1.8533 (3) A] and by one O atom [1.8620 (4) A]. The N(1) atom is 0.359 A above the plane defined by the atoms Ni(1), N(2) and N(3). The d-orbital population analysis reveals an oxidation state for the Ni atom of +2 with the configuration d(8) and a hole mainly in the d(x(2)-y(2)) orbital, located in the plane of the four ligating atoms. The prochiral reaction centre was examined by topological analysis.

Chiral nickel(II) complexes in the preparation of 11C- and 18F-labelled enantiomerically pure α-amino acids.

Positron emission tomography (PET) utilises positron emitting radiopharmaceuticals in the study of metabolic and physiological processes. FDG-PET is a useful technique for tumour detection; however FDG has disadvantages. The incorporation of labelled amino acids into brain tumours and into some other organs with high physiological consumption of glucose is a superior diagnostic method due to its much higher selectivity compared to FDG. A Ni(II) complex with a Schiff base of BPB and glycine was one of the first glycine synthons used for asymmetric synthesis of carbon-11 and fluorine-18 labelled α-amino acids. A similar complex was employed for routine preparation of [(18)F]FET. Physico-chemical investigations allowed us to design modified complexes with much stronger stereodiscriminative power including stereospecific ones. Chiral nickel complexes are also used for the preparation of tailored amino acids for the incorporation into peptides followed by labelling the peptides with fluorine-18 labelled "click" reagents. This review covers PET applications of Ni(II) complexes of Schiff base of BPB and α-amino acids from 1989 to date.

Why is monoalkylation versus bis-alkylation of the Ni(II) complex of the Schiff base of (S)-N-(2-benzoylphenyl)-1-benzylpyrrolidine-2-carboxamide and glycine so selective? MP2 modelling and topological QTAIM analysis of chiral metallocomplex synthons of α-amino acids used for the preparation of radiopharmaceuticals for positron emission tomography.

Chiral Ni(II) complexes are used for the preparation of carbon-11 or fluorine-18 enantiomerically pure α-amino acids for positron emission tomography (PET). They enable the selective monoalkylation of a glycine synthon with high stereoselectivity and the preparation of enantiomerically pure α-amino acids with quarternary α-carbon. Molecular modelling of non-, mono- and di-substituted complexes using quantum theory of atoms-in-molecule (QTAIM) topological analysis of electron density allowed us to formulate a new theory explaining the reasons for highly selective monomethylation of the complexes. In the non-substituted complex (GK), the α-carbon atom exhibits a higher atomic volume and a more positive charge in comparison with mono- and di-substituted complexes. This unusual behaviour is accompanied by increasing the bond critical point (BCP) ellipticity of the iminic bond in GK explained by the higher mechanical strain. Both phenomena indicate the increased reactivity and probably originate in more compact core of GK where shorter distances in the internal coordination sphere result in the higher strain of its bonds.

Adsorption of peptides at the sample drying step: influence of solvent evaporation technique, vial material and solution additive.

Although the efficient and careful removal of solvent from samples by centrifugal evaporation or freeze-drying methods is an important step in peptidomics, the recovery of peptides has not yet been fully investigated with these sample drying methods. Moreover, the surface adsorption of the peptides by the container and efforts to reduce this adsorption by organic additives is only scarcely elaborated until now. In this experiment, the recovery of five model peptides, i.e. bovine insulin, mouse obestatin, goserelin, buserelin and leucine-enkephalin was investigated applying dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO), dimethylformamide (DMF), polyethylene glycol 400 (PEG 400), mannitol and n-nonyl-beta-d-glucopyranoside (C(9)-Glu) in function of the two applied solvent evaporation processes (freeze-drying vs. centrifugal evaporation) and vial types, i.e. polypropylene (PP) and glass. Under our experimental conditions, drying resulted in a decreased recovery of the model peptides by 10% on average. Insulin showed the lowest recovery value relative to the other model peptides. For both drying methods, recovery of the model peptides was increased when C(9)-Glu was present. Overall, the use of PP vials is proposed for freeze-drying, while glass vials are found to be more suitable for centrifugal evaporation. The presence of PEG 400 in PP vials caused significantly reduced recoveries for all model peptides using centrifugal evaporation, although this was not observed in glass vials. As a general conclusion, applying C(9)-Glu as an additive along with choosing appropriate vial type (i.e. PP for lyophilization and glass for centrifugal evaporation) can avoid or diminish peptide loss during the evaporation procedure.