From symmetrical to asymmetrical nitrido phosphino-thiol complexes: a new class of neutral mixed-ligand (99m)Tc compounds as potential brain imaging agents

Synthesis, characterization and in vitro cytotoxicity of gallium(III)-dithiocarbamate complexes

A library of homoleptic mononuclear Ga(III) complexes of the general formula [Ga(DTC)3], where DTC is an alicyclic or a linear dithiocarbamate chelator, is reported. The complexes were prepared in high yields starting from Ga(NO3)3·6H2O and fully characterized by elemental analysis and IR and NMR spectroscopy. Crystals of five of these complexes were obtained. The antitumor activity of the newly synthesized compounds against a panel of human cancer cell lines was evaluated. The chemical nature of the DTC does not have a marked impact on the structural features of the final compound. X-ray crystal structure analyses revealed that all these complexes have a trigonal prismatic geometry with three identical chelating DTCs coordinating the Ga(III) ion. It is noteworthy that in complex 22, [Ga(NHEt)3] (NHEt = N-ethyldithiocarbamate), the asymmetric unit is formed by two independent and structurally different molecules. Cellular studies showed that all the synthesized Ga-DTC complexes exhibit marked cytotoxic activity, even against human colon cancer cells that are less sensitive to cisplatin. Among the tested compounds, 6 ([Ga(CEPipDTC)3], CEPipDTC = (ethoxycarbonyl)-piperidinedithiocarbamate) and 21 ([Ga(Pr-13)3], PR13 = 4 and N-(2-ethoxy-2-oxoethyl)-N-methyldithiocarbamate) are very promising derivatives, but they have no selectivity towards cancer cells. Nevertheless, the obtained data provide a foundation for developing gallium-dithiocarbamate complexes as anticancer agents.

Nitrido Technetium-99 m Core in Radiopharmaceutical Applications: Four Decades of Research

The knowledge on element 43 (Tc) of the periodic table, built over the years through the contributions given by the close relationship between chemistry and nuclear medicine, allowed the development of new and increasingly effective radiopharmaceuticals useful both as perfusion and target specific imaging agents for SPECT (single photon emission tomography). Among the manifold Tc-compounds, Tc(V) nitrido complexes played a relevant role in the search for new technetium-99m radiopharmaceuticals, providing efficient labeling procedures that can be conveniently exploited for the design and synthesis of agents, also incorporating small organic molecules or peptides having defined structural features. With this work, we present an overview of four decades of research on the chemistry and on the nuclear medicine applications of Tc(V) nitrido complexes.

Improved synthesis on solid phase of dithiocarbamic cRGD-derivative and 99m Tc-radiolabelling

In the field of angiogenesis, small cyclic pentapeptides containing the RGD motif are playing a relevant role for their high affinity and specificity for integrin receptors and for the possibility to act at both therapeutic and diagnostic level by inhibiting pathological angiogenesis and by serving as shuttles to deliver imaging-probe including SPECT/PET radionuclides to specific tissues. In the last decade, several new protocols were reported in literature for the direct synthesis of cyclic RDG either in solution or by SPPS. Here, we have elaborated and tested some alternative approaches using different resins and different protective groups. The introduction of the dithiocarbamate function, useful to complex radio-metals suitable for nuclear medicine applications, has also been considered and achieved.

Dithiocarbamate complexes as radiopharmaceuticals for medical imaging

Over the past 30 years dithiocarbamate ligands have found application in radiopharmaceutical metal-ligand complexes to image a range of disease states. The vast majority of research and applications, and the widest range of complex structures, have involved radionuclides of technetium and rhenium. Considering the extent of coordination chemistry of dithiocarbamate ligands described elsewhere in this issue, the extent of radiopharmaceutical application with metallic radionuclides is surprisingly narrow. Here we summarise the types of radiopharmaceutical complexes studied and the uses, and potential uses, to which they have been put in nuclear medicine.

Technetium and rhenium in five-coordinate symmetrical and dissymmetrical nitrido complexes with alkyl phosphino-thiol ligands. Synthesis and structural characterization

The reactivity of bulky alkylphosphino-thiol ligands (PSH) toward nitride-M(V, VI) (M = Tc/Re) precursors was investigated. Neutral five-coordinate monosubstituted complexes of the type [M(N)(PS)Cl(PPh(3))] (Tc1-4, Re1-2) were prepared in moderate to high yields. It was found that these [M(N)(PS)Cl(PPh(3))] species underwent ligand-exchange reactions under mild conditions when reacted with bidentate mononegative ligands having soft donor atoms such as dithiocarbamates (NaL(n)) to afford stable dissymmetrical mixed-substituted complexes of the type [M(N)(PS)(L(n))] (Tc5,8-10, Re5-9) containing two different bidentate chelating ligands bound to the [M[triple bond]N](2+) moiety. In these reactions, the dithiocarbamate replaced the two labile monodentate ligands (Cl and PPh(3)) leaving the [M(N)(PS)](+) building block intact. In the above reactions, technetium and rhenium were found to behave in a similar way. Instead, under more drastic conditions, reactions of PSH with [M(N)Cl(2)(PPh(3))(2)] gave a mixture of monosubstituted [M(N)(PS)Cl(PPh(3))] and bis-substituted species [M(N)(PS)(2)] (Tc11-14) in the case of technetium, whereas only monosubstituted [M(N)(PS)Cl(PPh(3))] complexes were recovered for rhenium. All isolated products were characterized by elemental analysis, IR and multinuclear ((1)H, (13)C, and (31)P) NMR spectroscopies, ESI MS spectrometry, and X-ray crystal structure determination of the representative monosubstituted [Tc(N)(PStbu)Cl(PPh(3))] (Tc4) and mixed-substituted [Re(N)(PScy)(L(3))] (Re7) and [Re(N)(PSiso)(L(4))] (Re9) complexes. The latter rhenium complexes represent the first example of a square-pyramidal nitrido Re species with the basal plane defined by a PS(3) donor set. Monosubstituted [M(N)(PS)Cl(PPh(3))] species bearing the substitution-inert [M(N)(PS)](+) moieties act as suitable building blocks proposed for the construction of new classes of dissymmetrical nitrido compounds with potential application in the development of essential and target specific (99m)Tc and (188)Re radiopharmaceuticals for imaging and therapy, respectively.