Renal handling of amino acid 99mtechnetium chelates

Tricarbonyltechnetium(I) and tricarbonylrhenium(I) complexes of amino acids: crystal and molecular structure of a novel cyclic dimeric Re(CO)3-amino acid complex comprised of the OON donor atom set of the tridentate ligand

Radiolabeled complexes of monoamino polycarboxylic, polyamino monocarboxylic and thiol containing amino acid ligands were prepared from a fac-[(99m)Tc(CO)3(H2O)3](+) precursor.The overall radiochemical yield was 94-98%. The complexes exhibited substantial in vitro and in vivo stability. The corresponding Re(I) complexes of the ligands DAPA, Asp and CysH were prepared and characterized by means of IR, NMR, and MS spectroscopic studies, as well as X-ray crystallography (for those containing D,L-DAPA and D,L-Asp). The rhenium complexes have been structurally correlated with the technetium complexes by means of HPLC studies. The reaction of Re(CO)5Cl with D,L-Asp in presence of triethylamine led to the formation of a new class of cyclic dimeric complexes formed by the OON donor atom set of the tridentate ligands. The amino carboxylate ligand system formed well defined complexes with a fac-[M(CO)3(H2O)3](+) core and shows good promise in (99m)Tc(CO)3 tracer development.

Comparative evaluation of Tc-99m cystine and Tc-99m MAG3 in normals and patients with renal functional impairment

Tc-99m cystine has been proved to be a good renal agent in animals for morphologic as well as the functional status of the kidney. In this study, we compared Tc-99m cystine with Tc-99m mercaptoacetyltriglycine, which is used for evaluation of renal function in normal patients, and those with various degrees of renal functional impairment. The clearance values and static images are compared with Tc-99m mercaptoacetyltriglycine. The results show that Tc-99m cystine has good radiopharmaceutical characteristics suitable for evaluation of both renal function as well as morphology.

Radiochemical studies of 99mTc complexes of modified cysteine ligands and bifunctional chelating agents

The synthesis of four novel ligands using the amino-acid cysteine and its ethyl carboxylate derivative is described. The synthetic method involves a two-step procedure, wherein the intermediate Schiff base formed by the condensation of the amino group of the cysteine substrate and salicylaldehyde is reduced to give the target ligands. The intermediates and the final products were characterized by high resolution nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Complexation studies of the ligands with 99mTc were optimized using stannous tartrate as the reducing agent under varying reaction conditions. The complexes were characterized using standard quality control techniques such as thin layer chromatography, paper electrophoresis, and paper chromatography. Lipophilicities of the complexes were estimated by solvent extraction into chloroform. Substantial changes in net charge and lipophilicity of the 99mTc complexes were observed on substituting the carboxylic acid functionality in ligands I and II with the ethyl carboxylate groups (ligands II and IV). All the ligands formed 99mTc complexes in high yield. Whereas the complexes with ligands I and II were observed to be hydrophilic in nature and not extractable into CHCl3, ligands III and IV resulted in neutral and lipophilic 99mTc complexes. The 99mTc complex with ligand II was not stable and on storage formed a hydrophilic and nonextractable species. The biodistribution of the complexes of ligands I and II showed that they cleared predominantly through the kidneys, whereas the complexes with ligands III and IV were excreted primarily through the hepatobiliary system. No significant brain uptake was observed with the 99mTc complexes with ligands III and IV despite their favorable properties of neutrality, lipophilicity, and conversion into a hydrophilic species. These ligands offer potential for use as bifunctional chelating agents.

Oxorhenium(V) and Oxotechnetium(V) Complexes of Cysteine

Earlier attempts to obtain technetium complexes with cysteine always resulted in the formation of a product contaminated with polymeric species. A pure product, which could be chemically characterized and adopted for radiopharmaceutical preparation, has now been obtained by using cystine as the precursor of cysteine. This method has been extended to prepare the corresponding rhenium chelate, isolated as the tetraphenylphosphonium salt [Ph(4)P](+)[{ReO(Cys)(2)}(-){HReO(Cys)(2)}].4H(2)O. The X-ray crystal structure of this compound revealed the presence of both neutral and anionic chelated species. In [HReO(Cys)(2)], the cysteine carboxylate moiety is unidentatedly bound to rhenium, while the carboxylic acid of the second cysteine remains as free COOH. The coordination environment around rhenium in the anionic species [ ReO(Cys)(2)(-)] is similar, the only difference being that the uncoordinated carboxylate moiety is present as a COO(-) anion. The thiolate, amine coordination of the ligand with the metal is present in both the chelate units. The compound crystallized in an orthorhombic system with the space group P2(1)2(1)2(1), and having four formula units in each cell. The crystal data are a = 9.700(2) Å, b = 12.836(3) Å, and c = 36.228(3) Å. The rhenium chelate has been structurally correlated with the technetium chelates through comparable spectroscopic and chromatographic data. The technetium-99m analogue of this rhenium chelate exhibited renal tubular transport and renal retention, which makes this radiopharmaceutical useful for evaluation of the clinical status of renal patients.

Preparation and biological behaviour of 99mTc-carbonyl and 99mTc-nitrido complexes of cysteine and some cysteine esters

The preparation of 99mTcO-, 99mTcN- and 99mTc(CO)-complexes of cysteamine (CYA), cysteine (CYS) and the methyl (CME) and ethyl (CEE) esters of cysteine is described. All complexes were stable and their biological behaviour in mice was studied. Most complexes were found to clear predominantly via the renal pathway with TcN- and Tc(CO)-complexes exhibiting greater urinary clearance than the corresponding TcO-complex. 99mTcN-CME, 99mTc(CO)-CME and 99mTc(CO)-CYS were found to be rapidly cleared via the kidneys and the effect of probenicid on renal clearance was studied to determine whether tubular excretion was involved. The results suggest that tubular secretion is involved in the renal clearance of 99mTcN-CME and Tc(CO)-CYS.

Evaluation of the biodistribution and in vivo biochemistry of 99mTc-cysteine and 99/99mTc-cysteine complexes--a potential renal imaging agent

Cysteine was chelated with 99mTc and/or 99Tc in a freeze-dried kit containing Tin(II) ions, and the yellow 99m/99Tc-cysteine complex (complex I) was separated to study the biodistribution. Comparison of the distribution of 99m/99Tc-cysteine and 99mTc-cysteine complexes was made in rats and mice. The renal excretion patterns were studied in rats in the presence and absence of the renal tubular transport inhibitor 2,4-dinitrophenol. The carrier of Tc-cysteine complex in the blood and also the radioactive compounds in the urine were studied by HPGFC and SDS-electrophoresis. The kidney was confirmed as the target organ; serum albumin serves as a carrier for transport of Tc-cysteine complex to the kidney. The Tc-cysteine complex was the primary form in excreta, and glomerular filtration was the dominant excretory pathway.

Cysteine, a chelating moiety for synthesis of technetium-99m radiopharmaceuticals--Part IV. Benzyl cysteine and derivatives

To explore the possibility of utilizing cysteine derivatives for technetium-99m radiopharmaceutical preparation with clinical potential, we synthesized two benzyl substituted cysteine compounds, namely, S-benzyl cysteine 1 and cysteine benzyl ester 3. It was expected, from our previous studies on benzoyl cysteines, that the above two ligands after chelation with 99mTc would be excreted by the hepatobiliary pathway. Although for 99mTc-3 the above expectation was realized, 99mTc-1 behaved in a most unexpected way by affixing itself with kidney and selecting the renal tubular secretory pathway for its excretion. It is anticipated that the affinity of 99mTc-1 for kidney is due to its interaction with the kidney sulphhydryl group and it also formed an adduct with other sulphydryl containing compounds like thiophenol. In terms of the kidney-to-background ratio, 99mTc-1 showed some superiority over other kidney structure agents, like 99mTc-dimercaptosuccinic acid and 99mTc-glucoheptanoic acid and, therefore, the chelate (99mTc-1) may have the potential to replace the above two radiopharmaceuticals in clinical use.

Functionalization of hydroxy compounds with nitrilotriacetic acid for technetium-99m chelation: excretory properties of the radiolabelled chelates

Substituted monoanilides of nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA) have gained much popularity in recent years as an important class of ligands for technetium-99m (99mTc) radiopharmaceutical preparations used in liver imaging and function studies. We were interested in investigating the properties of the corresponding ester analogues of this important class of ligands and for this study cyclohexanol was selected as a hydroxy component, which on condensation with nitrilotriacetic acid in the presence of acetic anhydride, furnished the monoester, N-cyclohexyloxycarbonylmethyl iminodiacetic acid 4 and the corresponding diester 5. Phenol on similar condensation produced mainly the diester, N,N-di(phenyloxycarbonylmethyl) aminoacetic acid 2, with traces of the corresponding monoester 7. A reinvestigation of the well known condensation reaction of aniline with nitrilotriacetic acid revealed that in addition to the reported monoanilide, N-phenylcarbamoylmethyl imino diacetic acid 3, the corresponding dianilide 6 was also produced in appreciable amount. The ester ligands 2, 4, 5 after 99mTc chelation exhibited good in vitro and in vivo stabilities. The biodistribution characteristics of these radiolabelled esters and amides were very similar showing thereby that esterification with NTA could be an effective method for converting alcohols to 99mTc-radiopharmaceuticals without generating any unusual properties because of the ester linkage. Residual radiopharmaceutical concentration after i.v. administration of these amide and ester 99mTc chelates at 30 min in blood, urine, liver, kidney and intestine were correlated with their lipophilicities and during this correlation it was observed that in addition to lipophilicity the anionic strength of these chelates is also an important determinant in governing their biodistribution. The ester ligand 4 after 99mTc chelation showed ultrafast hepatobiliary kinetics and was therefore compared in a rabbit model with a standard hepatobiliary radiopharmaceutical 99mTc-N-(p-butylphenylcarbamoyl methyl) iminodiacetic acid (99mTc-BIDA) by gamma-camera scintigraphy to investigate the potential of the former for clinical studies.

Cysteine, a chelating moiety for synthesis of technetium-99m radiopharmaceuticals: II. Attempt to synthesize renal tubular radiopharmaceuticals

N-acyl glycine residue is known to interact with renal tubular transport enzymes and thereby promotes renal tubular secretion. Recently, a similar renal property was also observed with dioxotechnetium aminocarboxy chelates. Therefore, a radiopharmaceutical was designed containing both the above groups with the expectation that an efficient 99mTc labelled renal tubular agent could be developed by this process with which evaluation of various renal parameters will be possible. The synthesized compound, though secreted through the renal tubular pathway, did not show the expected efficiency. It was indicated that the renal property of the molecule was entirely due to chelated dioxotechnetium moiety and the expected effect of the acyl glycine residue was not observed in the molecule.