Preparation of 4- and 6-[76Br] bromometaraminol, two potential radiotracers for the study of the myocardial norepinephrine neuronal reuptake system with PET

Bromination from the macroscopic level to the tracer radiochemical level: (76)Br radiolabeling of aromatic compounds via electrophilic substitution

No-carrier-added (NCA) (76)Br labeling of 4-(5-acetoxy-7-bromobenzoxazol-2-yl)phenyl acetate, a diacetate-protected estrogen-receptor beta (ERbeta) selective ligand, was carried out successfully using [(76)Br]bromide ion. The labeling was achieved via oxidative electrophilic destannylation of an organotin precursor molecule by modification of the leaving group (from Bu(3)Sn to Me(3)Sn) and the addition of methanol to the reaction mixture. The differences between the oxidative bromination reaction under small-scale macroscopic vs tracer level radiochemical conditions were explored in terms of effective brominating agents, which depend greatly on the nature of the solvent during the radiochemical bromination, and the potential interference by trace levels of highly reactive impurities in the reaction that compete for the desired bromination at the NCA level. Our observations, and our development of experimental protocols for successful radiobromination at the tracer NCA-scale, should be applicable to the synthesis of other radiobromine-labeled organic compounds of potential interest as PET radiopharmaceuticals and radiotherapy agents.

A novel electrophilic synthesis and evaluation of medium specific radioactivity (1R,2S)-4-[18F]fluorometaraminol, a tracer for the assessment of cardiac sympathetic nerve integrity with PET

(1R,2S)-4-[18F]fluorometaraminol (4-[18F]FMR), a tracer for cardiac sympathetic innervation, was synthesized by electrophilic aromatic substitution. A trimethylstannyl precursor, protected with tert-butoxycarbonyl protecting groups, was radiofluorinated with high specific radioactivity [18F]F2. Specific radioactivity of 4-[18F]FMR, in average 11.8 +/-3.3 GBq/micromol, was improved 40-800-fold in comparison to the previous electrophilic fluorinations. The biodistribution of 4-[18F]FMR in rat was in accordance with the known distribution of sympathetic innervation. 4-[18F]FMR showed no metabolic degradation in left ventricle of rat heart, where the uptake was high, rapid and specific.

Synthesis of high-specific-radioactivity 4- and 6-[18F]fluorometaraminol-PET tracers for the adrenergic nervous system of the heart

Fluorine-18- (t(1/2) 109.8 min) and carbon-11 (t(1/2) 20.4 min)-labeled norepinephrine analogues have been found previously to be useful positron-emission-tomography (PET) radioligands to map adrenergic nerve terminals of the heart. Metaraminol ((1R,2S)-2-amino-1-(3-hydroxyphenyl)-1-propanol) is a metabolically stable structural analogue of norepinephrine and possesses high affinity towards the norepinephrine transporter and the vesicular monoamine transporter. This paper presents the radiosynthesis of new positron-emission-tomography halogeno analogues of metaraminol labeled with high specific radioactivity. Firstly, fluorine-18-labeled 4-fluorometaraminol (4-[18F]FMR or (1R,2S)-2-amino-1-(4-[18F]fluoro-3-hydroxyphenyl)-1-propanol) and its three other stereoisomers were prepared based on the following key steps: (a) condensation of the corresponding no-carrier-added labeled fluorobenzaldehyde with nitroethane, and (b) HPLC (C18 and chiral) resolution of the diastereomeric product mixture into the four individual enantiomers. Secondly, the corresponding 6-fluoro analogues, fluorine-18-labeled 6-fluorometaraminol (6-[18F]FMR or (1R,2S)-2-amino-1-(2-[18F]fluoro-5-hydroxyphenyl)-1-propanol) and its three other enantiomers, were prepared in an analogous way. Typically, 0.48-0.55 GBq of 4-[18F]FMR and 0.14-0.15 GBq of 6-[18F]FMR could be obtained after 120-160 min total synthesis time, with a specific radioactivity of 56-106 GBq/micromol. Furthermore, the synthesis of racemic 4-fluorometaraminol and 6-fluorometaraminol as reference compounds was performed. as well as independent chiral syntheses of the optically active (1R,2S) enantiomers. For the chiral syntheses, the key step was an electrophilic fluorination with acetyl hypofluorite of (1R,2S)-configurated organometallic derivatives of metaraminol. Tissue distribution studies in rats suggested that both 4-[18F]FMR and 6-[18F]FMR display similar affinity towards the presynaptic adrenergic nerve terminal in the heart. From a practical point of view, 4-[18F]FMR appeared to be the more attractive candidate for future PET investigations, due to higher radiochemical yields.

High specific radioactivity (1R,2S)-4-[(18)F]fluorometaraminol: a PET radiotracer for mapping sympathetic nerves of the heart

The radiolabeled catecholamine analogue (1R, 2S)-6-[(18)F]fluorometaraminol (6-[(18)F]FMR) is a substrate for the neuronal norepinephrine transporter. It has been used as a positron emission tomography (PET) ligand to map sympathetic nerves in dog heart. 6-[(18)F]FMR could be only synthesized with low specific radioactivity, which precluded its use in human subjects. We have recently prepared (1R,2S)-4-[(18)F]fluorometaraminol (4-[(18)F]FMR), a new fluoro-analogue of metaraminol, with high specific radioactivity (56-106 GBq/micromol). In the present study, we demonstrate in rats that 4-[(18)F]FMR possesses similar affinity toward myocardial norepinephrine transport mechanisms as 6-[(18)F]FMR. When compared with control animals, an 80% and 76% reduction in myocardial uptake was observed in animals pretreated with desipramine (an inhibitor of the neuronal norepinephrine transporter) and with reserpine (a blocker of the vesicular storage of monoamines), respectively. The entire radioactivity in rat myocardium represented unmetabolized parent tracer as determined by high performance liquid chromatography analysis of tissue extracts. In dogs, myocardial kinetics of 4-[(18)F]FMR were assessed using PET. A rapid and high uptake was observed, followed by prolonged cardiac retention. A heart-to-lung ratio of 15 was reached 10 min after injection of the radiotracer. Pretreatment with desipramine reduced the heart half-life of 4-[(18)F]FMR by 90% compared with control. Moreover, an infusion of tyramine caused a rapid decline of radioactivity in the heart. This demonstrates that 4-[(18)F]FMR specifically visualizes sympathetic neurons in dog heart. High specific radioactivity 4-[(18)F]FMR is a promising alternative to 6-[(18)F]FMR for myocardial neuronal mapping with PET in humans.