Evaluation of [11C]hemicholinium-15 and [18F]hemicholinium-15 as new potential PET tracers for the high-affinity choline uptake system in the heart

Highly Carbon-Selective Monofluoromethylation of β-Ketoesters with Fluoromethyl Iodide

A highly carbon-selective monofluoromethylation of a broad range of β-ketoesters with fluoromethyl iodide under mild conditions is described. The uses of lithium tert-butoxide as the base and diglyme as the solvent made great contributions to the high C/O regioselectivity.

Molecular Imaging of the Heart

Multimodality cardiovascular imaging is routinely used to assess cardiac function, structure, and physiological parameters to facilitate the diagnosis, characterization, and phenotyping of numerous cardiovascular diseases (CVD), as well as allows for risk stratification and guidance in medical therapy decision-making. Although useful, these imaging strategies are unable to assess the underlying cellular and molecular processes that modulate pathophysiological changes. Over the last decade, there have been great advancements in imaging instrumentation and technology that have been paralleled by breakthroughs in probe development and image analysis. These advancements have been merged with discoveries in cellular/molecular cardiovascular biology to burgeon the field of cardiovascular molecular imaging. Cardiovascular molecular imaging aims to noninvasively detect and characterize underlying disease processes to facilitate early diagnosis, improve prognostication, and guide targeted therapy across the continuum of CVD. The most-widely used approaches for preclinical and clinical molecular imaging include radiotracers that allow for high-sensitivity in vivo detection and quantification of molecular processes with single photon emission computed tomography and positron emission tomography. This review will describe multimodality molecular imaging instrumentation along with established and novel molecular imaging targets and probes. We will highlight how molecular imaging has provided valuable insights in determining the underlying fundamental biology of a wide variety of CVDs, including: myocardial infarction, cardiac arrhythmias, and nonischemic and ischemic heart failure with reduced and preserved ejection fraction. In addition, the potential of molecular imaging to assist in the characterization and risk stratification of systemic diseases, such as amyloidosis and sarcoidosis will be discussed. © 2019 American Physiological Society. Compr Physiol 9:477-533, 2019.

Small Molecule PET Tracers for Transporter Imaging

As the field of PET has expanded and an ever-increasing number and variety of compounds have been radiolabeled as potential in vivo tracers of biochemistry, transporters have become important primary targets or facilitators of radiotracer uptake and distribution. A transporter can be the primary target through the development of a specific high-affinity radioligand: examples are the multiple high-affinity radioligands for the neuronal membrane neurotransmitter or vesicular transporters, used to image nerve terminals in the brain. The goal of a radiotracer might be to study the function of a transporter through the use of a radiolabeled substrate, such as the application of 3-O-[¹¹C]methyl]glucose to measure rates of glucose transport through the blood-brain barrier. In many cases, transporters are required for radiotracer distributions, but the targeted biochemistries might be unrelated: an example is the use of 2-deoxy-2-[¹⁸F]FDG for imaging glucose metabolism, where initial passage of the radiotracer through cell membranes requires the action of specific glucose transporters. Finally, there are transporters such as p-glycoprotein that function to extrude small molecules from tissues, and can effectively work against successful uptake of radiotracers. The diversity of structures and functions of transporters, their importance in human health and disease, and their role in therapeutic drug disposition suggest that in vivo imaging of transporter location and function will continue to be a point of emphasis in PET radiopharmaceutical development. In this review, the variety of transporters and their importance for in vivo PET radiotracer development and application are discussed. Transporters have thus joined the other major protein targets such as G-protein coupled receptors, ligand-gated ion channels, enzymes, and aggregated proteins as of high interest for understanding human health and disease.

High efficiency synthesis of F-18 fluoromethyl ethers: an attractive alternative for C-11 methyl groups in positron emission tomography radiopharmaceuticals

A rapid and efficient method for the synthesis of O-fluoromethyl aliphatic and aromatic ethers is presented. This method is so mild that it can be used for the preparation of positron emission tomography (PET) radiopharmaceuticals bearing O-[(18)F]fluoromethyl groups.

Synthesis of carbon-11 labeled 1-(3,4-dimethoxybenzyl)-2,2-dimethyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinolinium derivatives as new potential PET SKCa channel imaging agents

Small conductance Ca2+-activated K+ (SKCa) channels play an important role in many functions such as neuronal communication and behavioral plasticity, secretion, and cell proliferation. SKCa channel modulation is associated with various brain, heart, and cancer diseases. N-methyl-laudanosine and its structurally related derivatives, substituted 1-(3,4-dimethoxybenzyl)-2,2-dimethyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoliniums, are reversible and selective SKCa channel blockers. Carbon-11 labeled N-methyl-laudanosine and its tetrahydroisoquinolinium derivatives may serve as new probes for positron emission tomography (PET) to image SKCa channels in the brain, heart, and cancer. The key intermediates, substituted isoquinolines (3a-c), were synthesized using a modification of the Pomeranz-Fritsch procedure. The precursors, substituted 1-(3,4-dimethoxybenzyl)-2-methyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinolines (8a-c), and their corresponding reference standards, substituted 1-(3,4-dimethoxybenzyl)-2,2-dimethyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoliniums (9a-c), were synthesized from compounds 3a-c with 3,4-dimethoxybenzyl chloride (2) in multiple steps with moderate to excellent chemical yields. The precursor 6,7-dimethoxy-1-(3,4-dimethoxybenzyl)-2-methyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline (10) was commercially available, and the methylation of compound 10 with methyl iodide provided N-methyl-laudanosine (11). The target quaternary ammonium tracers, carbon-11 labeled 1-(3,4-dimethoxybenzyl)-2,2-dimethyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoliniums ([11C]9a-c and [11C]11), were prepared by N-[11C]methylation of the tertiary amine precursors (8a-c and 10) with [11C]methyl triflate and isolated by a simplified solid-phase extraction (SPE) purification using a SiO2 or cation-exchange CM Sep-Pak cartridge in 40-65% radiochemical yields.

Synthesis of carbon-11 labeled biaryl 1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline derivatives and conformationally flexible analogues as new potential PET glioma tumor imaging agents

Carbon-11 labeled biaryl 1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline derivatives and conformationally flexible analogues, 2-(2-(biphenyl-4-yl)ethyl)-6-[(11)C]methoxy-7-methoxy-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline ([(11)C]3); 1-(biphenyl-4-yl)methyl-6,7-dimethoxy-2-[(11)C]methyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline (N-[(11)C]7) and 1-(biphenyl-4-yl)methyl-6-[(11)C]methoxy-7-methoxy-2-methyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline (O-[(11)C]7); and 2-(biphenyl-4-yl)-N-(3,4-dimethoxy-phenethyl)-N-[(11)C]methyl-ethanamine (N-[(11)C]10) and 2-(biphenyl-4-yl)-N-(3-methoxy-4-[(11)C]methoxy-phenethyl)-N-methyl-ethanamine (O-[(11)C]10), have been synthesized as new potential positron emission tomography (PET) glioma tumor imaging agents, either by O-[(11)C]methylation or by N-[(11)C]methylation of the appropriate precursors using [(11)C]CH(3)OTf and isolated either by a simplified solid-phase extraction (SPE) purification procedure or by HPLC method in 30-55% radiochemical yields decay corrected to EOB, 15-25 min overall synthesis time, and 4.0-6.0 Ci/mumol specific activity at EOB.

Synthesis and biodistribution of new radiolabeled high-affinity choline transporter inhibitors [11C]hemicholinium-3 and [18F]hemicholinium-3

The high-affinity choline transporter (CHT1) system is an attractive target for the development of positron emission tomography (PET) biomarkers to probe brain, cardiac, and cancer diseases. An efficient and convenient synthesis of new radiolabeled CHT1 inhibitors [(11)C]hemicholinium-3 and [(18)F]hemicholinium-3 by solid-phase extraction (SPE) technique using a cation-exchange CM Sep-Pak cartridge has been well developed. The preliminary evaluation of both tracers through biodistribution studies in 9L-glioma rats has been performed, and the uptakes in the heart and tumor were observed, while very low brain uptake was seen.