Preparation and preliminary biological evaluation of a 177Lu labeled sanazole derivative for possible use in targeting tumor hypoxia

The preparation of a polyazamacrocyclic-nitrotriazole conjugate for radiolabeling with the therapeutic radioisotope viz. (177)Lu is described. The nitroimidazole used for the present study is [N-2'(carboxyethyl)-2-(3'-nitro-1'-triazolyl)acetamide], the carboxylic acid derivative of sanazole, which possesses an optimal combination of desired properties such as, selective toxicity for hypoxic cells, lowered lipophilicity resulting in lowered neurotoxicity. The bifunctional chelating agent is a DOTA derivative viz. 1,4,7,10-tetraaza-1-(4'-aminobenzylacetamido)-cyclododecane-4,7,10- triacetic acid (p-amino-DOTA-anilide). (177)Lu was produced in adequate specific activity (110TBq/g) and high radionuclidic purity (approximately 100%) by irradiating enriched (60.6% (176)Lu) Lu(2)O(3) target and used for radiolabeling of the sanazole-BFCA conjugate. approximately 98% Complexation yield was achieved under optimized conditions. The complex has been characterized by paper chromatography and HPLC studies. Bioevaluation studies in Swiss mice bearing fibrosarcoma tumors revealed moderate tumor uptake (0.88%/g at 1h post-injection) with favorable tumor to blood (4.00 at 1h post-injection) and tumor to muscle (4.63 at 1h post-injection) ratios.     

Conjugation of DOTA using isolated phenolic active esters: the labeling and biodistribution of albumin as blood pool marker

A convenient method for the functionalization of proteins with DOTA (1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-1,4,7,10-tetraacetic acid) has been developed. For this purpose DOTA was converted into a series of different monoreactive activated phenolic esters. The esters were prepared in a single step from commercially available DOTA, using 1-ethyl-3-[3-(dimethylamino)propyl]carbodiimide or 1,3-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide as coupling agent. The resulting activated esters were isolated by HPLC, lyophilized, and stored for future applications. In solid form the compounds exhibit high hydrolytic stability. The reactions with proteins proceeded in good yields. The conjugation and subsequent radiolabeling of the 4-nitrophenol ester of DOTA with 67Ga was investigated with rat serum albumin. A time-dependent biodistribution study in tumor bearing rats was conducted to demonstrate the integrity of the albumin conjugate. These results suggest that phenolic esters of DOTA represent versatile reagents to conjugate DOTA with proteins and other biomolecules in high yields.     

Comparative Efficacy of 177Lu and 90Y for Anti-CD20 Pretargeted Radioimmunotherapy in Murine Lymphoma Xenograft Models

Purpose

Pretargeted radioimmunotherapy (PRIT) is a multi-step method of selectively delivering high doses of radiotherapy to tumor cells while minimizing exposure to surrounding tissues. Yttrium-90 (⁹⁰Y) and lutetium-177 (¹⁷⁷Lu) are two of the most promising beta-particle emitting radionuclides used for radioimmunotherapy, which despite having similar chemistries differ distinctly in terms of radiophysical features. These differences may have important consequences for the absorbed dose to tumors and normal organs. Whereas ⁹⁰Y has been successfully applied in a number of preclinical and clinical radioimmunotherapy settings, there have been few published pretargeting studies with ¹⁷⁷Lu. We therefore compared the therapeutic potential of targeting either ⁹⁰Y or ¹⁷⁷Lu to human B-cell lymphoma xenografts in mice.

Methods

Parallel experiments evaluating the biodistribution, imaging, dosimetry, therapeutic efficacy, and toxicity were performed in female athymic nude mice bearing either Ramos (Burkitt lymphoma) or Granta (mantle cell lymphoma) xenografts, utilizing an anti-CD20 antibody-streptavidin conjugate (1F5-SA) and an ⁹⁰Y- or ¹⁷⁷Lu-labeled 1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-1,4,7,10-tetraacetic acid (DOTA)-biotin second step reagent.

Results

The two radionuclides displayed comparable biodistributions in tumors and normal organs; however, the absorbed radiation dose delivered to tumor was more than twice as high for ⁹⁰Y (1.3 Gy/MBq) as for ¹⁷⁷Lu (0.6 Gy/MBq). More importantly, therapy with ⁹⁰Y-DOTA-biotin was dramatically more effective than with ¹⁷⁷Lu-DOTA-biotin, with 100% of Ramos xenograft-bearing mice cured with 37 MBq ⁹⁰Y, whereas 0% were cured using identical amounts of ¹⁷⁷Lu-DOTA-biotin. Similar results were observed in mice bearing Granta xenografts, with 80% of the mice cured with ⁹⁰Y-PRIT and 0% cured with ¹⁷⁷Lu-PRIT. Toxicities were comparable with both isotopes.

Conclusion

⁹⁰Y was therapeutically superior to ¹⁷⁷Lu for streptavidin-biotin PRIT approaches in these human lymphoma xenograft models.     

Radiolanthanide-labeled monoclonal antibody CC49 for radioimmunotherapy of cancer: biological comparison of DOTA conjugates and 149Pm, 166Ho, and 177Lu

The radiolanthanides 149Pm, 166Ho, and 177Lu have decay characteristics suitable for radioimmunotherapy (RIT) of cancer. N-Hydroxysulfosuccinimidyl DOTA (DOTA-OSSu) and methoxy-DOTA (MeO-DOTA) were conjugated to the anti-TAG-72 monoclonal antibody CC49 for radiolabeling with 149Pm, 166Ho, and 177Lu. While both DOTA conjugates could be labeled to high specific activity with 177Lu, MeO-DOTA afforded superior conjugate stability, radiolabeling, and radiochemical purity. Pilot biodistributions in nude mice bearing LS174T human colon carcinoma xenografts demonstrated that MeO-DOTA afforded higher tumor uptake and lower kidney retention of 177Lu than DOTA-OSSu. The in vitro stability of 149Pm-, 166Ho-, and 177Lu-MeO-DOTA-CC49 was evaluated using serum and hydroxyapatite assays. Serum stability of radiolanthanide-labeled MeO-DOTA-CC49 followed a trend based on the coordination energies of the radiometals, with 177Lu showing the highest stability after 96 to 168 h at 37 C. In contrast, MeO-DOTA-CC49 labeled with all three radiolanthanides was >92% stable to hydroxyapatite challenge for 168 h at 37 C. Comprehensive biodistributions of 149Pm-, 166Ho-, and 177Lu-MeO-DOTA-CC49 were obtained in LS174T-bearing nude mice. Maximum tumor uptakes were 100.0% ID/g for 149Pm at 96 h, 69.5% ID/g for 166Ho at 96 h, and 132.4% ID/g for 177Lu at 168 h. Normal organ uptakes were generally low, except in the liver, spleen, and kidney at early time points. By 96 to 168 h postinjection, nontarget organ uptake decreased to approximately 7% ID/g (kidney), 12% ID/g (spleen), and 20% ID/g (liver) for each radiolanthanide. When labeled with 149Pm, 166Ho, and 177Lu, MeO-DOTA-CC49 has potential for RIT of colorectal cancer and other carcinomas.     

The synthesis and chelation chemistry of DOTA-peptide conjugates

Metal complexes of DOTA (1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-1,4,7,10-tetraacetic acid)-peptide conjugates are increasingly used as targeted imaging and therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals and MRI contrast agents. This review covers the bifunctional derivatives of DOTA, the solution and solid-phase synthesis of DOTA-peptide conjugates, their coordination and chelation chemistry, and the biomedical applications of various DOTA-peptide conjugate metal complexes.     

Cellular uptake of cationic gadolinium-DOTA peptide conjugates with and without N-terminal myristoylation

Cellular and nuclear uptake of dual labelled conjugates could be of great value for chemotherapy and cancer diagnostics. Therefore we designed conjugates in which gadolinium (Gd)-1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-1,4,7,10-tetraacetic acid (DOTA), a contrast agent for magnetic resonance imaging and fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC), a fluorescence marker were coupled to membrane translocation sequences (MTS). The MTSs we employed were the third helix of the Antennapedia homeodomain, the HIV-1 Tat peptide and the N-myristoylated HIV-1 Tat peptide. We used confocal laser scanning microscopy, fluorescence activated cell sorting, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and viability tests to examine the cellular and nuclear uptake of these conjugates into U373 glioma cells, as well as their cytotoxic effects. We found that the Antennapedia conjugate was taken up by no more than 20% of the cells. The HIV-1 Tat conjugate showed even lower uptake into less than 3% of cells. Interestingly, N-myristoylation of the HIV-1 Tat conjugate drastically improved its cellular uptake. Up to 70% of cells showed cellular and nuclear uptake of the N-myristoylated HIV-1 Tat conjugate. Conjugate cytotoxicity appears to correlate with cellular uptake.     

Imaging of human glioma cells by means of a Syndecan-4 directed DOTA-conjugate

The extracellular glycoprotein Tenascin-C (TN-C) is highly upregulated in gliomas. Therefore, many chemotherapies with radiolabeled antibodies against TN-C have been performed. However, TN-Cs binding partner Syndecan-4 did not play any role as a therapeutic or imaging target in gliomas. We constructed an imaging compound containing the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agent gadolinium (Gd)-1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-1,4,7,10-tetraacetic acid (DOTA), the fluorescence dye sulforhodamine and a synthetic Syndecan-4-specific 21 amino acid peptide derived from TN-C. Magnetic resonance relaxometry, confocal laser scanning microscopy, and flow cytometry showed that the Syndecan-4-DOTA-Rhodamine conjugate was taken up into the cytoplasm of human U373 glioma cells without any cytotoxic effects. Competition experiments indicate that this uptake was receptor-mediated. This conjugate might be used for future MRI studies of brain tumors after systemic or intraoperative local application.     

An improved method for conjugating monoclonal antibodies with N-hydroxysulfosuccinimidyl DOTA

A simple, water-soluble procedure for conjugation of monoclonal antibodies to 1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-N,N',N",N"'-tetraacetic acid (DOTA) has been improved by optimizing pH, buffer, and temperature conditions for the preparation of N-hydroxysulfosuccinimidyl DOTA and its conjugation to the human/murine chimeric anti-carcinoembryonic antigen antibody cT84.66. This improved method results in a 6-fold increase in conjugation efficiency, a 3-7-fold decrease in antibody cross-linking, a more homogeneous population of conjugate species, and a 5-fold decrease in the quantities of reagents needed for conjugation. The cT84.66-DOTA conjugate was labeled to high specific activity with 111In, 90Y, 88Y, 64Cu, and 67Cu, affording near-quantitative incorporation of the majority of these radiometals. This improved conjugation procedure facilitates large-scale production and radiometal labeling of cT84.66-DOTA for clinical radioimmunotherapy trials.     

Radiometal-labeled peptide-PNA conjugates for targeting bcl-2 expression: preparation,characterization, and in vitro mRNA binding

A new antisense peptide-peptide nucleic acid (peptide-PNA) conjugate, designed for targeting bcl-2 expression, has been radiolabeled, characterized, and evaluated for bcl-2 mRNA binding in a cell-free system. A PNA complementary to the first six codons of the bcl-2 gene was synthesized by standard solid-phase Fmoc chemistry and conjugated to a new derivative of 1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-N,N',N",N'"-tetraacetic acid (DOTA) that allows macrocyclic radiometal chelates to be incorporated into any sequence position of a peptide-PNA conjugate. The DOTA-PNA conjugate was then coupled to a membrane-permeating transduction peptide, PTD-4, designed for intracellular delivery of the radiolabeled PNA. The conjugate was characterized by HPLC and ESI-MS and labeled with (111)In and (90)Y to high specific activities (>1000 Ci/mmol) with high radiochemical purity. Northern blot analysis showed that (90)Y-PTD-4-K(DOTA)-anti-bcl-2-PNA bound specifically to as little as 50 fmol of bcl-2 mRNA, a result equivalent to that obtained with the analogous (32)P-labeled DNA antisense oligonucleotide. Thus, the mRNA targeting properties of (111)In- and (90)Y-PTD-4-K(DOTA)-anti-bcl-2-PNA demonstrate potential for diagnostic imaging and targeted radiotherapy applications in bcl-2-positive cancers.     

Synthesis of 64Cu-labeled magnetic nanoparticles for multimodal imaging

Complementary imaging modalities provide more information than either method alone can yield and we have developed a dual-mode imaging probe for combined magnetic resonance (MR) and positron emission tomography (PET) imaging. We have developed dual-mode PET/MRI active probes targeted to vascular inflammation and present synthesis of (1) an aliphatic amine polystyrene bead and (2) a novel superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticle targeted to macrophages that were both coupled to positron-emitting copper-64 isotopes. The amine groups of the polystyrene beads were directly conjugated with an amine-reactive form (isothiocyanate) of aza-macrocycle 1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclo-dodecane-1,4,7,10-tetraacetic acid (DOTA). Iron oxide nanoparticles are dextran sulfate coated, and the surface was modified to contain aldehyde groups to conjugate to an amine-activated DOTA. Incorporation of chelated Cu-64 to nanoparticles under these conditions, which is routinely used to couple DOTA to macromolecules, was unexpectedly difficult and illustrates that traditional conjugation methods do not always work in a nanoparticle environment. Therefore, we developed new methods to couple Cu-64 to nanoparticles and demonstrate successful labeling to a range of nanoparticle types. We obtained labeling yields of 24% for the amine polystyrene beads and 21% radiolabeling yield for the anionic dextran sulfate iron oxide nanoparticles. The new coupling chemistry can be generalized for attaching chelated metals to other nanoparticle platforms.     

In vivo evaluation of medical device-associated inflammation using a macrophage-specific positron emission tomography (PET) imaging probe

To image implant-surrounding activated macrophages, a macrophage-specific PET probe was prepared by conjugating folic acid (FA) and 2,2′,2″,2?-(1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-1,4,7,10-tetrayl)tetracetic acid (DOTA) to polyethylene glycol (PEG) and then labeling the conjugate with Ga-68. In vivo PET imaging evaluations demonstrate that the probe is able to detect foreign body reactions, and more importantly, quantify the degree of inflammatory responses to an implanted medical device. These results were further validated by histological analysis.     

Identification of side arm-modified DOTA scaffolds as multi-site binding ligands for cancer cells over normal cells

The metal-chelated 1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecan-1,4,7,10-tetraacetic acid-tetraamide (DOTA) scaffold has been widely used as a contrast agent for diagnostic purposes in positron emission tomography (PET) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), but not as a biomarker targetable ligand. While the oxygen atoms at the stem of the four arms of the DOTA scaffold are needed for metal chelation, we previously introduced various physiochemical properties to extend these arms in a chemical library fashion to enhance the imaging contrast mechanism. We developed two such on-bead libraries, with 80 and 76 DOTA derivatives, where one arm was used to attach the DOTA scaffold onto resin beads and the other three arms were chemically modified. We now hypothesized that the chemical moieties used to modify these three arms can also recognize biomarkers on a cell surface. Therefore in this current study, we used such 76 derivatives of DOTA library to screen against HeLa cervical cancer cells. We found that two of the four ‘hits’ identified displayed higher binding towards HeLa cells than the unmodified parent DOTA. Furthermore, one of those ‘hits’ displayed better binding towards cervical and prostate cancer cells than lung and breast cancer cells and normal HBEC-3KT and RWPE1 cells. This indicates that this derivative can recognize a biomarker specific for certain types of cancer cells. If the compound has intrinsic activity, this can be used as a theranostic agent for real time therapy monitoring applications in the future. We believe that our DOTA derivative-based library approach can be applied to other types of cell and protein screens on various disease types in the future.     

Simple and convenient radiolabeling of proteins using a prelabeling-approach with thiol-DOTA

Commonly applied methods for radiometal-labeling of proteins require complex and protracted derivatization reactions of the protein and the subsequent radiolabeling is time-consuming due to the low reaction temperatures applicable. Therefore, a convenient and efficient prelabeling technique for proteins using the DOTA derivative 2,2′,2′′-(10-(2-(2-mercaptoethylamino)-2-oxoethyl)-1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-1,4,7-triyl)triacetic acid (thiol-DOTA) containing a thiol moiety for rapid and selective introduction into maleimide-derivatized proteins was developed. Thiol-DOTA was labeled with ⁶⁸Ga, ⁹⁰Y and ¹⁷⁷Lu and subsequently introduced into bovine serum albumin and a human IgG with maximum radiochemical yields of 66%. The entire radiolabeling procedure was completed after only 30 min making this a favorable new labeling technique for proteins.     

Positron emission tomography imaging of CD105 expression with a 64Cu-labeled monoclonal antibody: NOTA is superior to DOTA

Optimizing the in vivo stability of positron emission tomography (PET) tracers is of critical importance to cancer diagnosis. In the case of (64)Cu-labeled monoclonal antibodies (mAb), in vivo behavior and biodistribution is critically dependent on the performance of the bifunctional chelator used to conjugate the mAb to the radiolabel. This study compared the in vivo characteristics of (64)Cu-labeled TRC105 (a chimeric mAb that binds to both human and murine CD105), through two commonly used chelators: 1,4,7-triazacyclononane-1,4,7-triacetic acid (NOTA) and 1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-1,4,7,10-tetraacetic acid (DOTA). Flow cytometry analysis confirmed that chelator conjugation of TRC105 did not affect its CD105 binding affinity or specificity. PET imaging and biodistribution studies in 4T1 murine breast tumor-bearing mice revealed that (64)Cu-NOTA-TRC105 exhibited better stability than (64)Cu-DOTA-TRC105 in vivo, which resulted in significantly lower liver uptake without compromising the tumor targeting efficiency. In conclusion, this study confirmed that NOTA is a superior chelator to DOTA for PET imaging with (64)Cu-labeled TRC105.     

DOTA-Functionalized Polylysine: A High Number of DOTA Chelates Positively Influences the Biodistribution of Enzymatic Conjugated Anti-Tumor Antibody chCE7agl

Site-specific enzymatic reactions with microbial transglutaminase (mTGase) lead to a homogenous species of immunoconjugates with a defined ligand/antibody ratio. In the present study, we have investigated the influence of different numbers of 1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-N-N′-N′′-N′′′-tetraacetic acid (DOTA) chelats coupled to a decalysine backbone on the in vivo behavior of the chimeric monoclonal anti-L1CAM antibody chCE7agl. The enzymatic conjugation of (DOTA)₁-decalysine, (DOTA)₃-decalysine or (DOTA)₅-decalysine to the antibody heavy chain (via Gln295/297) gave rise to immunoconjugates containing two, six or ten DOTA moieties respectively. Radiolabeling of the immunoconjugates with ¹⁷⁷Lu yielded specific activities of approximately 70 MBq/mg, 400 MBq/mg and 700 MBq/mg with increasing numbers of DOTA chelates. Biodistribution experiments in SKOV3ip human ovarian cancer cell xenografts demonstrated a high and specific accumulation of radioactivity at the tumor site for all antibody derivatives with a maximal tumor accumulation of 43.6±4.3% ID/g at 24 h for chCE7agl-[(DOTA)-decalysine]₂, 30.6±12.0% ID/g at 24 h for chCE7agl-[(DOTA)₃-decalysine]₂ and 49.9±3.1% ID/g at 48 h for chCE7agl-[(DOTA)₅-decalysine)]₂. The rapid elimination from the blood of chCE7agl-[(DOTA)-decalysine]₂ (1.0±0.1% ID/g at 24 h) is associated with a high liver accumulation (23.2±4.6% ID/g at 24 h). This behavior changed depending on the numbers of DOTA moieties coupled to the decalysine peptide with a slower blood clearance (5.1±1.0 (DOTA)₃ versus 11.7±1.4% ID/g (DOTA)₅, p<0.005 at 24 h) and lower radioactivity levels in the liver (21.4±3.4 (DOTA)₃ versus 5.8±0.7 (DOTA)₅, p<0.005 at 24 h). We conclude that the site-specific and stoichiometric uniform conjugation of the highly DOTA-substituted decalysine ((DOTA)₅-decalysine) to an anti-tumor antibody leads to the formation of immunoconjugates with high specific activity and excellent in vivo behavior and is a valuable option for radioimmunotherapy and potentially antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs).     

Design,synthesis and in vitro characterization of Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 derivatives for pancreatic beta cell imaging by SPECT

Novel Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 (GLP-1) derivatives containing the metal chelator DOTA (1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-1,4,7,10-tetraacetic acid) and naturally occurring Indium (^113/115In) were prepared using solid-phase Fmoc methods. All synthesized peptides contained d-Ala-8, a modification known to improve resistance towards degradation by dipeptidyl peptidase-IV. The effect of increased distance between DOTA and the peptide chain was investigated using an (aminoethyl) ethoxy acetyl linker, in order to reduce steric effects imposed by DOTA. Placement of linker and DOTA moieties were also varied within the GLP-1 sequence to test for optimal metal-complex location. The binding affinity of the peptide derivatives was determined in vitro with Chinese hamster ovary cells stably transfected with a human GLP-1 receptor (CHO/GLP-1R) cell line and was shown to be in the nM range. Gamma camera imaging of an insulinoma cell line was carried out using ¹¹¹In-labeled peptides. Our results suggest that the prepared GLP-1 derivatives are suitable imaging probes for studying pancreatic islet function in vivo.     

Vinyl sulfone bifunctional derivatives of DOTA allow sulfhydryl- or amino-directed coupling to antibodies. Conjugates retain immunoreactivity and have similar biodistributions.

We have synthesized a bifunctional vinyl sulfone-cysteineamido derivative of DOTA (1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-1,4,7,10-tetraacetic acid) that can be conjugated to the sulfhydryls of mildly reduced recombinant antibody (chimeric anti-CEA antibody cT84.66) at pH 7 or to the amino groups of lysine residues at pH 9. The conjugation is sulfhydryl specific at pH 7 (case 1), and amino specific at pH 9 (case 2) as long as the antibody has no free sulhydryl groups. At a molar ratio of 50 BCA (bifunctional chelating agent) to mAb, the number of chelates conjugated is 0.8 for case 1, and 4.6 for case 2. The resulting conjugates can be radiolabeled with (111)In to high specific activity (5 mCi/mg) with high efficiency (>95%) at 43 degrees C in 60 min. The radiolabeled conjugates retained >95% immunoreactivity and are stable in serum containing 1mM DTPA over 3 d. When the radiolabeled conjugates were injected into nude mice bearing LS174T human colon tumor xenografts, over 40% ID/g accumulated in tumors during the period 24-72h. Tumor-to-blood ratios were 4.5, 3.5, and 2.5 for the sulfhydryl coupled conjugate at 24, 48, and 72 h, respectively, and 2.7, 2.5, and 2.3 for the amino-coupled conjugate at the same time points. For other organs the biodistributions were nearly identical whether the conjugates were attached via sulfhydryl or amino groups. These novel BCAs are easy to synthesize, offer versatile conjugation options, and give equivalent biodistributions that result in high tumor uptake and good tumor-to-blood ratios.     

Macrocyclic complexes of scandium radionuclides as precursors for diagnostic and therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals

The aim of this study was to evaluate new ligands which can be applied for labeling biomolecules with scandium radionuclides. Two radionuclides of scandium, ⁴⁷Sc and ⁴⁴Sc, are perspective radioisotopes for radiotherapy and diagnostic imaging. ⁴⁷Sc decays with a half-life of 3.35 days and a maximum β⁻ energy of 600 keV and could be an alternative to carrier added ¹⁷⁷Lu radionuclide for targeted radionuclide therapy. Another scandium radionuclide ⁴⁴Sc (t_1/2 = 3.92 h) is an ideal β⁺ emitter for PET diagnosis. It can be obtained as a daughter of the long-lived ⁴⁴Ti (t_1/2 = 60.4 y) from ⁴⁴Ti/⁴⁴Sc generator. For complexation of scandium radionuclides macrocyclic ligands having a cavity size similar to Sc³⁺ ionic radius were selected: 1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-1,4,7,10-tetraacetic acid (DOTA), 1,4,7-triazacyclononane-1,4,7 triacetic acid (NOTA), 1,4,7-triazacyclodecane-1,4,7 triacetic acid and 1,4,7-triazacycloundecane triacetic acid, and analogs of NOTA with 10, 11 and 12 atoms of the carbon in the ring. Our results have shown that from the studied macrocyclic ligands studied DOTA is most efficient for binding scandium radionuclides ⁴⁴Sc and ⁴⁷Sc to biomolecules. The determined stability constant of Sc-DOTA complex logK = 27.0 is comparable with stability constants for Y³⁺ and heaviest lanthanides but is higher than those for In³⁺ and Ga³⁺. Also ⁴⁶Sc-DOTATATE conjugate exhibits high stability in-vitro studies. The ¹³C NMR studies have shown that Sc-DOTA like Lu-DOTA forms in solution complexes with eight-coordination geometry. The lipophilicity of Sc-DOTATATE is nearly identical to that of Lu-DOTATATE, which suggests similar receptor affinity of both radioconjugates.     

Synthesis and DNA binding properties of a cationic 2,2':6',2"-terpyridine cobalt(II) complex containing an oligopeptide

The first example of DNA metallointercalator containing an oligopeptide moiety is presented. The ternary cobalt(II) complex [(DOTA)Co(II)(TPY)](ClO(4))(2) (DOTA=1,4,7,10-tetraaza-cyclododecane-2,9-dione, TPY=2, 2':6',2"-terpyridine) was found to be efficient in binding ct-DNA. The binding constant was determined by spectrophotometric titration. In vitro antitumor studies shows that this complex has significant antitumor activity. The single-crystal of a six coordinated oligopeptide cobalt(II) complex [Co(II)(DOTA)(2)](ClO(4))(2) is also reported. The stabilities and species distributions of Co(II)-DOTA (1:1) and DOTA-Co(II)-TPY (1:1:1) systems were investigated by potentiometry titration.     

Synthesis of phosphine and antibody-azide probes for in vivo Staudinger ligation in a pretargeted imaging and therapy approach

The application of intact monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) as targeting agents in nuclear imaging and radioimmunotherapy is hampered by the slow pharmacokinetics of these molecules. Pretargeting with mAbs could be beneficial to reduce the radiation burden to the patient, while using the excellent targeting capacity of the mAbs. In this study, we evaluated the applicability of the Staudinger ligation as pretargeting strategy using an antibody-azide conjugate as tumor-targeting molecule in combination with a small phosphine-containing imaging/therapeutic probe. Up to 8 triazide molecules were attached to the antibody without seriously affecting its immunoreactivity, pharmacokinetics, and tumor uptake in tumor bearing nude mice. In addition, two (89)Zr- and (67/68)Ga-labeled desferrioxamine (DFO)-phosphines, a (177)Lu-1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-1,4,7,10-tetraacetic acid (DOTA)-phosphine and a (123)I-cubyl phosphine probe were synthesized and characterized for their pharmacokinetic behavior in nude mice. With respect to the phosphine probes, blood levels at 30 min after injection were <5% injected dose per gram tissue, indicating rapid blood clearance. In vitro Staudinger ligation of 3.33 μM antibody-azide conjugate with 1 equiv of radiolabeled phosphine, relative to the azide, in aqueous solution resulted in 20-25% efficiency after 2 h. The presence of 37% human serum resulted in a reduced ligation efficiency (reduction max. 30% at 2 h), while the phosphines were still >80% intact. No in vivo Staudinger ligation was observed in a mouse model after injection of 500 μg antibody-azide, followed by 68 μg DFO-phosphine at t = 2 h, and evaluation in blood at t = 7 h. To explain negative results in mice, Staudinger ligation was performed in vitro in mouse serum. Under these conditions, a side product with the phosphine was formed and ligation efficiency was severely reduced. It is concluded that in vivo application of the Staudinger ligation in a pretargeting approach in mice is not feasible, since this ligation reaction is not bioorthogonal and efficient enough. Slow reaction kinetics will also severely restrict the applicability of Staudinger ligation in humans.