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The presence of positron emission tomography (PET) centers at most major hospitals worldwide, along with the improvement of PET scanner sensitivity and the introduction of total body PET systems, has increased the interest in the PET tracer development using the short-lived radionuclides carbon-11. In the last few decades, methodological improvements and fully automated modules have allowed the development of carbon-11 tracers for clinical use. Radiolabeling natural compounds with carbon-11 by substituting one of the backbone carbons with the radionuclide has provided important information on the biochemistry of the authentic compounds and increased the understanding of their in vivo behavior in healthy and diseased states. The number of endogenous and natural compounds essential for human life is staggering, ranging from simple alcohols to vitamins and peptides. This review collates all the carbon-11 radiolabeled endogenous and natural exogenous compounds synthesised to date, including essential information on their radiochemistry methodologies and preclinical and clinical studies in healthy subjects.

It is a growing concern that outcomes of neuroimaging studies often cannot be replicated. To counteract this, the magnetic resonance (MR) neuroimaging community has promoted acquisition standards and created data sharing platforms, based on a consensus on how to organize and share MR neuroimaging data. Here, we take a similar approach to positron emission tomography (PET) data. To facilitate comparison of findings across studies, we first recommend publication standards for tracer characteristics, image acquisition, image preprocessing, and outcome estimation for PET neuroimaging data. The co-authors of this paper, representing more than 25 PET centers worldwide, voted to classify information as mandatory, recommended, or optional. Second, we describe a framework to facilitate data archiving and data sharing within and across centers. Because of the high cost of PET neuroimaging studies, sample sizes tend to be small and relatively few sites worldwide have the required multidisciplinary expertise to properly conduct and analyze PET studies. Data sharing will make it easier to combine datasets from different centers to achieve larger sample sizes and stronger statistical power to test hypotheses. The combining of datasets from different centers may be enhanced by adoption of a common set of best practices in data acquisition and analysis.

Aim: The receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE) is a viable target for early Alzheimer's disease (AD) diagnosis using positron emission tomography (PET) as RAGE overexpression precedes Aβ plaque formation. The development of a carbon-11 analog of FPS-ZM1 (N-benzyl-4-chloro-N-cyclohexylbenzamide, [ 11 C]FPS-ZM1), possessing nanomolar affinity for RAGE, may enable the imaging of RAGE for early AD detection. Methodology & results: Herein we report an optimized [ 11 C]CO 2 -to-[ 11 C]CO chemical conversion for the synthesis of [ 11 C]FPS-ZM1 and in vitro brain autoradiography. The [ 11 C]CO 2 -to-[ 11 C]CO conversion via 11 C-silanecarboxylate derivatives was achieved with a 57% yield within 30 s from end of [ 11 C]CO 2 delivery. [ 11 C]FPS-ZM1 was obtained with a decay-corrected isolated radiochemical yield of 9.5%. Conclusion: [ 11 C]FPS-ZM1 distribution in brain tissues of wild-type versus transgenic AD model mice showed no statistically significant difference and high nondisplaceable binding.

Anion transport by the human sodium-iodide symporter (hNIS) is an established target for molecular imaging and radionuclide therapy. Current radiotracers for PET of hNIS expression are limited to 124 I - and 18 F-BF 4 - We sought new 18 F-labeled hNIS substrates offering higher specific activity, higher affinity, and simpler radiochemical synthesis than 18 F-BF 4 - METHODS: The ability of a range of anions, some containing fluorine, to block 99m TcO 4 - uptake in hNIS-expressing cells was measured. SO 3 F - emerged as a promising candidate. 18 F-SO 3 F - was synthesized by reaction of 18 F - with SO 3 -pyridine complex in MeCN and purified using alumina and quaternary methyl ammonium solid-phase extraction cartridges. Chemical and radiochemical purity and serum stability were determined by radiochromatography. Radiotracer uptake and efflux in hNIS-transduced HCT116-C19 cells and the hNIS-negative parent cell line were evaluated in vitro in the presence and absence of a known competitive inhibitor (NaClO 4 ). PET/CT imaging and ex vivo biodistribution measurement were conducted on BALB/c mice, with and without NaClO 4 inhibition., Results: Fluorosulfate was identified as a potent inhibitor of 99m TcO 4 - uptake via hNIS in vitro (half-maximal inhibitory concentration, 0.55-0.56 μM (in comparison with 0.29-4.5 μM for BF 4 - , 0.07 μM for TcO 4 - , and 2.7-4.7 μM for I - ). Radiolabeling to produce 18 F-SO 3 F - was simple and afforded high radiochemical purity suitable for biologic evaluation (radiochemical purity > 95%, decay-corrected radiochemical yield = 31.6%, specific activity ≥ 48.5 GBq/μmol). Specific, blockable hNIS-mediated uptake in HCT116-C19 cells was observed in vitro, and PET/CT imaging of normal mice showed uptake in thyroid, salivary glands (percentage injected dose/g at 30 min, 563 ± 140 and 32 ± 9, respectively), and stomach (percentage injected dose/g at 90 min, 68 ± 21)., Conclusion: Fluorosulfate is a high-affinity hNIS substrate. 18 F-SO 3 F - is easily synthesized in high yield and very high specific activity and is a promising candidate for preclinical and clinical PET imaging of hNIS expression and thyroid-related disease; it is the first example of in vivo PET imaging with a tracer containing an S- 18 F bond., (© 2017 by the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging.)

The positron-emitting radionuclide carbon-11 ((11)C, t1/2 = 20.3 min) possesses the unique potential for radiolabeling of any biological, naturally occurring, or synthetic organic molecule for in vivo positron emission tomography (PET) imaging. Carbon-11 is most often incorporated into small molecules by methylation of alcohol, thiol, amine or carboxylic acid precursors using [(11)C]methyl iodide or [(11)C]methyl triflate (generated from [(11)C]carbon dioxide or [(11)C]methane). Consequently, small molecules that lack an easily substituted (11)C-methyl group are often considered to have non-obvious strategies for radiolabeling and require a more customized approach. [(11)C]Carbon dioxide itself, [(11)C]carbon monoxide, [(11)C]cyanide, and [(11)C]phosgene represent alternative reactants to enable (11)C-carbonylation. Methodologies developed for preparation of (11)C-carbonyl groups have had a tremendous impact on the development of novel PET tracers and provided key tools for clinical research. (11)C-Carbonyl radiopharmaceuticals based on labeled carboxylic acids, amides, carbamates and ureas now account for a substantial number of important imaging agents that have seen translation to higher species and clinical research of previously inaccessible targets, which is a testament to the creativity, utility and practicality of the underlying radiochemistry.

Copper(II)bis(thiosemicarbazonato) complexes such as [(64)Cu]Cu-ATSM continue to be investigated for positron emission tomography (PET) imaging of tumour hypoxia. However, the currently proposed mechanisms for the mode of action of these complexes are unable to account fully for their observed biological behaviour. In order to examine the roles of the copper metal and the ligand, we designed a pair of (123)I/(64)Cu-copper bis(thiosemicarbazonates), radiolabelled at either the metal or at the ligand. In vitro cellular retention studies of the orthogonal pair demonstrate for the first time that retention under hypoxia involves dissociation of the copper bis(thiosemicarbazone) complex, consistent with the previously suggested mechanism of reductive trapping of copper. In contrast, in vivo biodistribution and dynamic PET/SPECT imaging of the orthogonally labelled complexes underline our previous findings for [(64)Cu]Cu-ATSM and [(64)Cu]Cu-acetate, providing further support for the important contribution of copper metabolism in the in vivo hypoxia selectivity of Cu-ATSM. This dual radiolabelling approach may find applications for determining the speciation of other metal complexes in vitro and in vivo.

Unlabelled: The development of a PET radioligand selective for I2-imidazoline binding sites (I2BS) would enable, for the first time, specific, measurable in vivo imaging of this target protein, along with assessment of alterations in expression patterns of this protein in disease pathophysiology., Methods: BU99008 was identified as the most promising I2BS radioligand candidate and radiolabeled with (11)C via methylation. The in vivo binding properties of (11)C-BU99008 were assessed in rhesus monkeys to determine brain penetration, brain distribution, binding specificity and selectivity (via the use of the unlabeled blockers), and the most appropriate kinetic model for analyzing data generated with this PET radioligand., Results: (11)C-BU99008 was demonstrated to readily enter the brain, resulting in a heterogeneous distribution (globus pallidus > cortical regions > cerebellum) consistent with the reported regional I2BS densities as determined by human tissue section autoradiography and preclinical in vivo PET studies in the pig. In vivo competition studies revealed that (11)C-BU99008 displayed reversible kinetics specific for the I2BS. The multilinear analysis (MA1) model was the most appropriate analysis method for this PET radioligand in this species. The selective I2BS blocker BU224 was shown to cause a saturable, dose-dependent decrease in (11)C-BU99008 binding in all regions of the brain assessed, further demonstrating the heterogeneous distribution of I2BS protein in the rhesus brain and binding specificity for this radioligand., Conclusion: These data demonstrate that (11)C-BU99008 represents a specific and selective PET radioligand for imaging and quantifying the I2BS, in vivo, in the rhesus monkey. Further work is under way to translate the use of (11)C-BU99008 to the clinic.

Unlabelled: Changes in the density of imidazoline-I(2) binding sites have been observed in a range of neurologic disorders including Alzheimer's disease, Huntington's chorea, and glial tumor; however, the precise function of these sites remains unclear. A PET probe for I(2) binding sites would further our understanding of the target and may find application as a biomarker for early disease diagnosis. Compound BU99008 has previously been identified as a promising I(2) ligand from autoradiography studies, displaying high affinity and good selectivity toward the target. In this study, BU99008 was radiolabeled with (11)C in order to image the I(2) binding sites in vivo using PET., Methods: (11)C-BU99008 was radiolabeled by N-alkylation of the desmethyl precursor using (11)C-methyl iodide. A series of PET experiments was performed to investigate the binding of (11)C-BU99008 in porcine brains, in the presence or absence of a nonradiolabeled, competing I(2) ligand, BU224., Results: (11)C-BU99008 was obtained in good yield and specific activity. In vivo, (11)C-BU99008 displayed good brain penetration and gave a heterogeneous distribution with high uptake in the thalamus and low uptake in the cortex and cerebellum. (11)C-BU99008 brain kinetics were well described by the 1-tissue-compartment model, which was used to provide estimates for the total volume of distribution (V(T)) across brain regions of interest. Baseline V(T) values were ranked in the following order: thalamus > striatum > hippocampus > frontal cortex ≥ cerebellum, consistent with the known distribution and concentration of I(2) binding sites. Administration of a selective I(2) binding site ligand, BU224, reduced the V(T) to near-homogeneous levels in all brain regions., Conclusion: (11)C-BU99008 appears to be a suitable PET radioligand for imaging the I(2) binding sites in vivo.

The evaluation of drug pharmacodynamics and early tumour response are integral to current clinical trials of novel cancer therapeutics to explain or predict long term clinical benefit or to confirm dose selection. Tumour vascularity assessment by positron emission tomography could be viewed as a generic pharmacodynamic endpoint or tool for monitoring response to treatment. This review discusses methods for semi-quantitative and quantitative assessment of tumour vascularity. The radioligands and radiotracers range from direct physiological functional tracers like [(15)O]-water to macromolecular probes targeting integrin receptors expressed on neovasculature. Finally we make recommendations on ways to incorporate such measurements of tumour vascularity into early clinical trials of novel therapeutics. Key Points • [ ( 15 ) O]-water is the gold standard for blood flow/tissue perfusion with PET • In some instances dynamic [ ( 18 ) F]-FDG uptake may be used to estimate perfusion • Radiopharmaceuticals that target integrins are now being evaluated for measuring tumour vascularity.

The non-specific binding of candidate positron emission tomography (PET) radiotracers causes resulting PET images to have poor contrast and is a key determinant for the success or failure of imaging drugs. Non-specific binding is thought to arise when radiotracers bind to cell membranes and moieties other than their intended target. Our previous preliminary work has proposed the use of the drug-lipid interaction energy descriptor to predict the level of non-specific binding in vivo using a limited set of ten well known PET radiotracers with kinetic modelling data taken from the literature. This work validates and extends the use of the drug-lipid interaction energy descriptor using a new set of twenty-two candidate PET radiotracers with non-specific binding data recently collected at the same imaging centre with consistent methodology. As with the previous set of radiotracers, a significant correlation is found between the quantum chemical drug-lipid interaction energy and in vivo non-specific binding experimental values. In an effort to speed up the calculation process, several semi-empirical quantum chemical methods were assessed for their ability to reproduce the ab initio results. However no single semi-empirical method was found to consistently reproduce the level of correlation achieved with ab initio quantum chemical methods.

The synthesis of three pairs of orthogonally labelled fluorinated Cu bis(thiosemicarbazonato) complexes is presented. These are the first examples of (18)F-labelled Cu(II)-complexes designed to serve as new hypoxia selective PET tracers and as mechanistic probes to study the mode of action of this class of markers. In vitro evaluation revealed that the fluorinated Cu-complex derived from amide coupling is suitable for in vivo work.

An efficient two-step, one-pot, biotransformation involving the fluorinase enzyme is described for the synthesis of 5-deoxy-5-[(18)F]fluororibose, a novel [(18)F]-fluorinated sugar suitable for positron emission tomography (PET) applications.

Nonspecific binding is a poorly understood biological phenomenon of relevance in the study of small molecules interactions in vivo and in drug development. Nonspecific binding is thought to be correlated in part to a molecule's lipophilicity, typically estimated by measuring (or calculating) octanol-water partition coefficient. This is, however, a gross simplification of a complex phenomenon. In this article, we present a computational method whose aim is to help identify positron emission tomography (PET) ligands with low nonspecific binding characteristics by investigating the molecular basis of ligand-membrane interaction. We considered a set consisting of 10 well-studied central nervous system PET radiotracers acting on a variety of molecular targets. Quantum mechanical calculations were used to estimate the strength of the interaction between each drug molecule and one phospholipid molecule commonly present in mammalian membranes. The results indicate a correlation between the computed drug-lipid interaction energy and the in vivo nonspecific distribution volume relative to the free tracer plasma concentration, calculated using standard compartmental modeling for the analysis of PET data. Significantly, the drugs whose interaction with the lipid molecule more favorably possessed, in general, a higher nonspecific binding value, whereas for the drugs taken in consideration in this study, the water-octanol partition coefficient, log P, did not show good predictive power of the nonspecific binding. This study also illustrates how ab initio chemical methods may offer meaningful and unbiased insights for the understanding of the underlying chemical mechanisms in biological systems., (2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Positron emission tomography (PET) is a powerful and rapidly developing area of molecular imaging that is used to study and visualize human physiology by the detection of positron-emitting radiopharmaceuticals. Information about metabolism, receptor/enzyme function, and biochemical mechanisms in living tissue can be obtained directly from PET experiments. Unlike magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or computerized tomography (CT), which mainly provide detailed anatomical images, PET can measure chemical changes that occur before macroscopic anatomical signs of a disease are observed. PET is emerging as a revolutionary method for measuring body function and tailoring disease treatment in living subjects. The development of synthetic strategies for the synthesis of new positron-emitting molecules is, however, not trivial. This Review highlights key aspects of the synthesis of PET radiotracers with the short-lived positron-emitting radionuclides (11)C, (18)F, (15)O, and (13)N, with emphasis on the most recent strategies.

The fluorinase enzyme from S. cattleya is applied as a catalyst for the efficient incorporation of [18F]-fluoride into [18F]-5'-fluoro-5'-deoxyadenosine, [18F]-5'-fluoro-5'-deoxyinosine and [18F]-5-fluoro-5-deoxyribose for positron emission tomography (PET) applications.

Cyclic AMP (cAMP) is a continually produced nucleotide which is inactivated by hydrolysis to 5'AMP via phosphodiesterase 4 (PDE4) enzymes. Rolipram is a selective PDE4 inhibitor which exists in two enantiomeric forms, R(-) and S(+). Both of these enantiomers have previously been labelled with carbon-11 and used as positron emission tomography (PET) ligands for measuring PDE4 expression and function, and indirectly to explore the function of the cAMP second messenger, in vivo, using PET. The aim of these studies was to relate the in vitro affinities of the two rolipram enantiomers using standard pharmacological assays with the in vivo behaviour of the two enantiomers using PET. In vitro competition assays were performed using rat cortical membranes and [(3)H]R(-)- and [(3)H]S(+)-rolipram with increasing concentrations of either unlabelled R(-)- or S(+)-rolipram. In vivo, a series of PET studies were performed in the porcine brain using [(11)C]R(-)-rolipram with co-administration of increasing doses of either unlabelled R(-)- or S(+)-rolipram. Additional in vivo PET studies were performed using [(11)C]S(+)-rolipram with saturating doses of rolipram. In all studies, R(-)-rolipram exhibited a higher affinity for the PDE4 enzyme than S(+)-rolipram. The calculated affinity ratios were 7.97 from the in vitro studies; 12.5 from the in vivo studies using [(11)C]R(-)-rolipram; and 14.7 from the in vivo studies using [(11)C]S(+)-rolipram. To conclude, the in vitro affinities of R(-)- and S(+)-rolipram predict their apparent in vivo behaviour in the porcine brain, as measured by PET., ((c) 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc.)

Imaging the progression of Alzheimer's disease would greatly facilitate the discovery of therapeutics, and a wide range of ligands are currently under development for the detection of beta-amyloid peptide (Abeta)-containing plaques by using positron emission tomography. Here we report an in-depth characterization of the binding of seven previously described ligands to in vitro generated Abeta-(1-40) polymers. All of the compounds were derived from the benzothiazole compound thioflavin T and include 2-[4'-(methylamino)phenyl]benzothiazole and 2-(4'-dimethylamino-)phenyl-imidazo[1,2-a]-pyridine derivatives, 2-[4'-(dimethylamino)phenyl]-6-iodobenzothiazole and 2-[4'-(4''-methylpiperazin-1-yl)phenyl]-6-iodobenzothiazole, and a benzofuran compound (5-bromo-2-(4-dimethylaminophenyl)benzofuran). By using a range of fluorescent and radioligand binding assays, we find that these compounds display a more complex binding pattern than described previously and are consistent with three classes of binding sites on the Abeta fibrils. All of the compounds bound with very high affinity (low nm K(d)) to a low capacity site (BS3) (1 ligand-binding site per approximately 300 Abeta-(1-40) monomers) consistent with the previously recognized binding site for these compounds on the fibrils. However, the compounds also bound with high affinity (K(d) approximately 100 nm) to either one of two additional binding sites on the Abeta-(1-40) polymer. The properties of these sites, BS1 and BS2, suggest they are adjacent or partially overlapping and have a higher capacity than BS3, occurring every approximately 35 or every approximately 4 monomers of Abeta-(1-40)-peptide, respectively. Compounds appear to display selectivity for BS2 based on the presence of a halogen substitution (2-[4'-(dimethylamino)phenyl]-6-iodobenzothiazole, 2-[4'-(4''-methylpiperazin-1-yl)phenyl]-6-iodobenzothiazole, and 5-bromo-2-(4-dimethylaminophenyl)benzofuran) on their aromatic ring system. The presence of additional ligand-binding sites presents potential new targets for ligand development and may allow a more complete modeling of the current positron emission tomography data.