Evaluation of PLED as a chelating ligand in the preparation of gallium and indium radiopharmaceuticals

Radioactive Main Group and Rare Earth Metals for Imaging and Therapy

Radiometals possess an exceptional breadth of decay properties and have been applied to medicine with great success for several decades. The majority of current clinical use involves diagnostic procedures, which use either positron-emission tomography (PET) or single-photon imaging to detect anatomic abnormalities that are difficult to visualize using conventional imaging techniques (e.g., MRI and X-ray). The potential of therapeutic radiometals has more recently been realized and relies on ionizing radiation to induce irreversible DNA damage, resulting in cell death. In both cases, radiopharmaceutical development has been largely geared toward the field of oncology; thus, selective tumor targeting is often essential for efficacious drug use. To this end, the rational design of four-component radiopharmaceuticals has become popularized. This Review introduces fundamental concepts of drug design and applications, with particular emphasis on bifunctional chelators (BFCs), which ensure secure consolidation of the radiometal and targeting vector and are integral for optimal drug performance. Also presented are detailed accounts of production, chelation chemistry, and biological use of selected main group and rare earth radiometals.

Synthesis and biological evaluation of gallium polyaminothiols (PAT)

Two polyaminothiol ligands, one hexadentate, N,N',N"-tris[2-methyl(2-propanethiol)]-1,4,7-triazacyclononane (TACN), and another potentially heptadentate, tris[2-methyl(2-propanethiol)]aminoethylamine (TMAE), were synthesized and characterized using spectroscopic and analytical methods. Both ligands were labeled with gallium-67 at pH 3.0-3.5 in high yields. The resulting gallium chelates were lipophilic. The biodistribution studies for both the chelates showed hepatic uptake and biliary clearance. The total % ID activity for [67Ga]TACN in liver and intestine at 5 min was 33.86 increasing gradually to 61.4% at 30 min. The chelates were in vivo stable to plasma-transferrin transchelation as confirmed by scintigraphic images obtained by [67Ga]TACN in rats and by plasma incubation of the chelates. These results indicate that Ga-TACN is a potentially useful tracer for hepatobiliary imaging using PET. No brain uptake was found.

Potential 67Ga radiopharmaceuticals for myocardial imaging: tris(1-aryl-3-hydroxy-2-methyl-4-pyridinonato)gallium(III) complexes

A series of highly lipophilic complexes of 1-aryl-3-hydroxy-2-methyl-4-pyridinones with gallium(III)-67 has been evaluated in vitro and in vivo as potential radiopharmaceuticals. The pyridinones have different substituents at the para-position of the phenyl ring: R = H, CH3, OCH3 and NO2. Biodistribution studies of 67Ga complexes have been carried out in rabbits, mice, rats and a dog. High heart uptake of the radionuclide has been shown in rabbits and the dog. The different biodistribution patterns in mice and rats indicate that there is a species difference in the biodistribution of these complexes. Rabbits and the dog show rapid heart uptake and blood clearance. The speciation of the Ga3+ ion in vivo is simulated in vitro with a simple blood plasma model based on the available thermodynamic data.

Targeting radiopharmaceuticals--II. Evaluation of new trivalent metal complexes with different overall charges

Three new multidentate ligands designed to have high affinity for Ga3+, In3+ and Fe3+ have been synthesized. N-(2-hydroxybenzyl)-N'-pyridoxylethylenediamine-N,N'-diacetic acid (HBPLED), N-(2-hydroxy-3,5-dimethylbenzyl)-N'-(3-hydroxy-1,2,5-trimethyl-4- pyridylmethyl)ethylenediamine-N,N'-diacetic acid (Me4HBPLED) and N,N'-bis(3-hydroxy-1,2,5-trimethyl-4-pyridylmethyl) ethylenediamine-N,N'-diacetic acid (DMPLED). These ligands give metal-ligand (M-L) complexes with (M = Ga3+, In3+, Fe3+) overall charges of -1.0 and +1, respectively. The 67Ga, 68Ga and 111In complexes of each of the three ligands and the 59Fe complex of Me4HBPLED were prepared, characterized and their biodistributions determined in rats after intravenous injection. Despite the differences in overall charge, the biological behavior of all three 111In complexes were similar, in that the radioactivity cleared rapidly via the kidney. The biodistributions of the 68Ga and 67Ga complexes were comparable to that of the 111In complex counterpart. Also, the 59Fe-Me4HBPLED biodistribution was not significantly different from those of the 68Ga- and 111In-Me4HBPLED. The renal clearance rate seems insensitive to the overall M-L charge; suggesting that the hydrophilic periphery of the ligand rather than the overall molecular charge determines the biological fate (with respect to renal clearance).

Chelator-induced enhancement of 67Ga tumour imaging: comparison of desferrioxamine with N,N'-ethylene-bis[2-hydroxy-5-carboxyphenylglycine]

Intravenous injection of the gallium chelating agents, N,N'-ethylene bis[2-hydroxy-5-carboxyphenyl-glycine], (COOH-EHPG), or desferrioxamine (DFO) after gallium-67 (67Ga) injection, improved tumour/non-tumour tissue uptake ratios in mice bearing the EMT-6 sarcoma. Six hours post injection of gallium and 2 h post chelator, COOH-EHPG enhanced the tumour/blood ratios by an order of magnitude compared to untreated controls, whereas DFO increased the ratios three-fold. Twenty two hours post gallium and 2 h post chelator, the increases in ratios compared to controls were seven-fold for COOH-EHPG and two-fold for DFO. The study thus demonstrated the superior ability of COOH-EHPG for the enhancement of 67Ga tumour/blood ratios compared with DFO.

Targeting radiopharmaceuticals: comparative biodistribution studies of gallium and indium complexes of multidentate ligands

New multidentate ligands with structures similar to N,N'-bis[2-hydroxybenzyl]ethylenediamine-N,N'-diacetic acid (HBED) and N,N'-bis(pyridoxyl)ethylenediamine-N,N'-diacetic acid (PLED) were synthesized. The in vitro lipophilicity, electrophoretic behavior, and the in vitro biodistribution were studied for the 111In- and 67, 68Ga-complexes of N,N'-bis(2-hydroxy-3,5-dimethylbenzyl)ethylenediamine-N,N'-diacetic acid (Me4HBED); N,N'-bis(5-t-butyl-2-hydroxy-3-methylbenzyl)ethylenediamine-N,N'-diac eti c acid (t-butyl HBED); N,N'-bis[2-hydroxy-5-sulfobenzyl)ethylenediamine-N,N'-diacetic acid (SHBED); N,N'-bis(2-hydroxy-3,5-dimethylbenzyl)ethylenediamine-N-(2-hydroxyethyl) -N'-acetic acid (HBMA); and N,N'-bis(5-deoxypyridoxyl)ethylenediamine-N,N'-diacetic acid (DPLED). The biodistribution of the radiometal complexes were carried out in rats and an imaging study was performed in a non-human primate. The rapid clearance of the lipophilic complexes from blood and through the hepatobiliary system was easily demonstrated; as well, the hydrophilic complexes were cleared rapidly through the urinary tract. Positron emission tomographic images were generated from a study in a primate after administration of 68Ga-t-butyl HBED. These images well demonstrate the efficient liver accumulation and rapid hepatobiliary clearance (less than 1 h) and well differentiate images of the liver and gall bladder.