Synthesis of a new fluorine-18 glycosylated 'click' cyanoquinoline for the imaging of epidermal growth factor receptor

Sweetening Pharmaceutical Radiochemistry by 18F-Fluoroglycosylation: Recent Progress and Future Prospects

In the field of ¹⁸F-chemistry for the development of radiopharmaceuticals for positron emission tomography (PET), various labeling strategies by the use of prosthetic groups have been implemented, including chemoselective ¹⁸F-labeling of biomolecules. Among those, chemoselective ¹⁸F-fluoroglycosylation methods focus on the sweetening of pharmaceutical radiochemistry by offering a highly valuable tool for the synthesis of ¹⁸F-glycoconjugates with suitable in vivo properties for PET imaging studies. A previous review covered the various ¹⁸F-fluoroglycosylation methods that were developed and applied as of 2014 (Maschauer and Prante, BioMed. Res. Int. 2014, 214748). This paper is an updated review, providing the recent progress in ¹⁸F-fluoroglycosylation reactions and the preclinical application of ¹⁸F-glycoconjugates, including small molecules, peptides, and high-molecular-weight proteins.

Carbon dots-embedded epitope imprinted polymer for targeted fluorescence imaging of cervical cancer via recognition of epidermal growth factor receptor

A carbon dots-embedded epitope imprinted polymer (C-MIP) was fabricated for targeted fluorescence imaging of cervical cancer by specifically recognizing the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). The core-shell C-MIP was prepared by a reverse microemulsion polymerization method. This method used silica nanoparticles embedded with carbon dots as carriers, acrylamide as the main functional monomer, and N-terminal nonapeptides of EGFR modified by palmitic acid as templates. A series of characterizations (transmission electron microscope, dynamic light scattering, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, zeta potential, and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy) prove the successful synthesis of C-MIP. The fluorescence of C-MIP is quenched by the epitopes of EGFR due to the specific recognition of epitopes of EGFR through their imprinted cavities (analytical excitation/emission wavelengths, 540 nm/610 nm). The linear range of fluorescence quenching is 2.0 to 15.0 μg mL^-1 and the determination limit is 0.73 μg mL^-1. The targeted imaging capabilities of C-MIP are demonstrated through in vitro and in vivo experiments. The laser confocal imaging results indicate that HeLa cells (over-expression EGFR) incubated with C-MIP show stronger fluorescence than that of MCF-7 cells (low-expression EGFR), revealing that C-MIP can target tumor cells overexpressing EGFR. The results of imaging experiments in tumor-bearing mice exhibit that C-MIP has a better imaging effect than C-NIP, which further proves the targeted imaging ability of C-MIP in vivo. Graphical abstract An oriented epitope imprinted polymer embedded with carbon dots was prepared for the determination of the epitopes of epidermal growth factor receptor and targeted fluorescence imaging of cervical cancer.

Fluorine-18 labelled building blocks for PET tracer synthesis

This review presents a comprehensive overview of the synthesis and application of fluorine-18 labelled building blocks since 2010.

Identification of ABC Transporter Interaction of a Novel Cyanoquinoline Radiotracer and Implications for Tumour Imaging by Positron Emission Tomography

BACKGROUND

The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is overexpressed in many cancers including lung, ovarian, breast, head and neck and brain. Mutation of this receptor has been shown to play a crucial role in the response of non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) to EGFR-targeted therapies. It is envisaged that imaging of EGFR using positron emission tomography (PET) could aid in selection of patients for treatment with novel inhibitors. We recognised multi-drug resistant phenotype as a threat to development of successful imaging agents. In this report, we describe discovery of a novel cyanoquinoline radiotracer that lacks ABC transporter activity.

METHODS

Cellular retention of the prototype cyanoquinoline [18F](2E)-N-{4-[(3-chloro-4-fluorophenyl)amino]-3-cyano-7-ethoxyquinolin-6-yl}-4-({[1-(2-fluoroethyl)-1H-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl]methyl}amino)-but-2-enamide ([18F]FED6) and [18F](2E)-N-{4-[(3-chloro-4-fluorophenyl)amino]-3-cyano-7-ethoxyquinolin-6-yl}-4-[({1-[(2R,5S)-3-fluoro-4,5-dihydroxy-6-(hydroxymethyl)oxan-2-yl]-1H-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl}methyl)amino]but-2-enamide ([18F]FED20) were evaluated to establish potential for imaging specificity. The substrate specificity of a number of cyanoquinolines towards ABC transporters was investigated in cell lines proficient or deficient in ABCB1 or ABCG2.

RESULTS

FED6 demonstrated substrate specificity for both ABCG2 and ABCB1, a property that was not observed for all cyanoquinolines tested, suggesting scope for designing novel probes. ABC transporter activity was confirmed by attenuating the activity of transporters with drug inhibitors or siRNA. We synthesized a more hydrophilic compound [18F]FED20 to overcome ABC transporter activity. FED20 lacked substrate specificity for both ABCB1 and ABCG2, and maintained a strong affinity for EGFR. Furthermore, FED20 showed higher inhibitory affinity for active mutant EGFR versus wild-type or resistant mutant EGFR; this property resulted in higher [18F]FED20 cellular retention in active mutant EGFR expressing NSCLC.

CONCLUSION

[18F]FED20 binds EGFR but is devoid of ABC transporter activity, thus, has potential for EGFR imaging.

Recent Advances in the Development and Application of Radiolabeled Kinase Inhibitors for PET Imaging

Over the last 20 years, intensive investigation and multiple clinical successes targeting protein kinases, mostly for cancer treatment, have identified small molecule kinase inhibitors as a prominent therapeutic class. In the course of those investigations, radiolabeled kinase inhibitors for positron emission tomography (PET) imaging have been synthesized and evaluated as diagnostic imaging probes for cancer characterization. Given that inhibitor coverage of the kinome is continuously expanding, in vivo PET imaging will likely find increasing applications for therapy monitoring and receptor density studies both in- and outside of oncological conditions. Early investigated radiolabeled inhibitors, which are mostly based on clinically approved tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) isotopologues, have now entered clinical trials. Novel radioligands for cancer and PET neuroimaging originating from novel but relevant target kinases are currently being explored in preclinical studies. This article reviews the literature involving radiotracer design, radiochemistry approaches, biological tracer evaluation and nuclear imaging results of radiolabeled kinase inhibitors for PET reported between 2010 and mid-2015. Aspects regarding the usefulness of pursuing selective vs. promiscuous inhibitor scaffolds and the inherent challenges associated with intracellular enzyme imaging will be discussed.

Sweetening pharmaceutical radiochemistry by (18)f-fluoroglycosylation: a short review

At the time when the highly efficient [(18)F]FDG synthesis was discovered by the use of the effective precursor 1,3,4,6-tetra-O-acetyl-2-O-trifluoromethanesulfonyl- β -D-mannopyranose (mannose triflate) for nucleophilic (18)F-substitution, the field of PET in nuclear medicine experienced a long-term boom. Thirty years later, various strategies for chemoselective (18)F-labeling of biomolecules have been developed, trying to keep up with the emerging field of radiopharmaceutical sciences. Among the new radiochemical strategies, chemoselective (18)F-fluoroglycosylation methods aim at the sweetening of pharmaceutical radiochemistry by providing a powerful and highly valuable tool for the design of (18)F-glycoconjugates with suitable in vivo properties for PET imaging studies. This paper provides a short review (reflecting the literature not older than 8 years) on the different (18)F-fluoroglycosylation reactions that have been applied to the development of various (18)F-glycoconjugate tracers, including not only peptides, but also nonpeptidic tracers and high-molecular-weight proteins.

18F-labeling using click cycloadditions

Due to expanding applications of positron emission tomography (PET) there is a demand for developing new techniques to introduce fluorine-18 (t_1/2 = 109.8 min). Considering that most novel PET tracers are sensitive biomolecules and that direct introduction of fluorine-18 often needs harsh conditions, the insertion of ¹⁸F in those molecules poses an exceeding challenge. Two major challenges during ¹⁸F-labeling are a regioselective introduction and a fast and high yielding way under mild conditions. Furthermore, attention has to be paid to functionalities, which are usually present in complex structures of the target molecule. The Cu-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC) and several copper-free click reactions represent such methods for radiolabeling of sensitive molecules under the above-mentioned criteria. This minireview will provide a quick overview about the development of novel ¹⁸F-labeled prosthetic groups for click cycloadditions and will summarize recent trends in copper-catalyzed and copper-free click ¹⁸F-cycloadditions.