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The synthesis and isolation of [Ru(Cp)(PCy2NPh2)(=C=CHPh]PF6 and [Ru(Cp*)(PCy2NCy2)(=C=CHPh)]PF6 was successfully accomplished. Use of these ruthenium vinylidene complexes for stoichiometric reactions with a variety of amines was performed. Upon reaction with alkyl amines, deprotonation of the Cβ hydrogen resulted in formation of acetylide complex [Ru(Cp*)(PCy2NPh2)(−C≡CPh)], and the species was confirmed through independent synthesis. In contrast, reaction of the less basic aryl amine aniline with [Ru(Cp)(PCy2NCy2)(=C=CHPh)]PF6 resulted in outer sphere addition to give a Fischer carbene product. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some bispecific radiotracers have been developed to overcome the limitations of monospecific tracers and improve detection sensitivity for heterogeneous tumor lesions. Here, we aim to synthesize two bispecific tracers targeting prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) and fibroblast activation protein (FAP), which are key markers expressed in prostate cancer. A pyridine-based FAP-targeted ligand was synthesized through multi-step organic synthesis and then connected to the 2-Nal-containing PSMA-targeted motif. The Ki(PSMA) values of Ga-complexed bispecific ligands, Ga-AV01084 and Ga-AV01088, were 11.6 ± 3.25 and 28.7 ± 6.05 nM, respectively, and the IC50(FAP) values of Ga-AV01084 and Ga-AV01088 were 10.9 ± 0.67 and 16.7 ± 1.53 nM, respectively. Both [68Ga]Ga-AV01084 and [68Ga]Ga-AV01088 enabled the visualization of PSMA-expressing LNCaP tumor xenografts and FAP-expressing HEK293T:hFAP tumor xenografts in PET images acquired at 1 h post-injection. However, the tumor uptake values from the bispecific tracers were still lower than those obtained from the monospecific tracers, PSMA-targeted [68Ga]Ga-PSMA-617 and FAP-targeted [68Ga]Ga-AV02070. Further investigations are needed to optimize the selection of linkers and targeted pharmacophores to improve the tumor uptake of bispecific PSMA/FAP tracers for prostate cancer imaging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Overexpressed in various solid tumors, gastrin-releasing peptide receptor (GRPR) is a promising cancer imaging marker and therapeutic target. Although antagonists are preferable for the development of GRPR-targeted radiopharmaceuticals due to potentially fewer side effects, internalization of agonists may lead to longer tumor retention and better treatment efficacy. In this study, we systematically investigated unnatural amino acid substitutions to improve in vivo stability and tumor uptake of a previously reported GRPR-targeted agonist tracer, [68Ga]Ga-TacBOMB2 (68Ga-DOTA-Pip-D-Phe6-Gln7-Trp8-Ala9-Val10-Gly11-His12-Leu13-Thz14-NH2). Results: Unnatural amino acid substitutions were conducted for Gln7, Trp8, Ala9, Val10, Gly11 and His12, either alone or in combination. Out of 25 unnatural amino acid substitutions, tert-Leu10 (Tle10) and NMe-His12 substitutions were identified to be preferable modifications especially in combination. Compared with the previously reported [68Ga]Ga-TacBOMB2, the Tle10 and NMe-His12 derived [68Ga]Ga-LW01110 showed retained agonist characteristics and improved GRPR binding affinity (Ki = 7.62 vs 1.39 nM), in vivo stability (12.7 vs 89.0% intact tracer in mouse plasma at 15 min post-injection) and tumor uptake (5.95 vs 16.6 %ID/g at 1 h post-injection). Conclusions: Unnatural amino acid substitution is an effective strategy to improve in vivo stability and tumor uptake of peptide-based radiopharmaceuticals. With excellent tumor uptake and tumor-to-background contrast, [68Ga]Ga-LW01110 is promising for detecting GRPR-expressing cancer lesions with PET. Since agonists can lead to internalization upon binding to receptors and foreseeable long tumor retention, our optimized GRPR-targeted sequence, [Tle10,NMe-His12,Thz14]Bombesin(7–14), is a promising template for use for the design of GRPR-targeted radiotherapeutic agents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gastrin-releasing peptide receptor (GRPR), overexpressed in many solid tumors, is a promising imaging marker and therapeutic target. Most reported GRPR-targeted radioligands contain a C -terminal amide. Based on the reported potent antagonist D-Phe-Gln-Trp-Ala-Val-Gly-His-Leu-NHOH, we synthesized C -terminal hydroxamate-derived [ 68 Ga]Ga-LW02075 ([ 68 Ga]Ga-DOTA-pABzA-DIG-D-Phe-Gln-Trp-Ala-Val-Gly-His-Leu-NHOH) and [ 68 Ga]Ga-LW02050 ([ 68 Ga]Ga-DOTA-Pip-D-Phe-Gln-Trp-Ala-Val-Gly-His-Leu-NHOH), and compared them with the closely related and clinically validated [ 68 Ga]Ga-SB3 ([ 68 Ga]Ga-DOTA-pABzA-DIG-D-Phe-Gln-Trp-Ala-Val-Gly-His-Leu-NHEt). Binding affinities (K i ) of Ga-SB3, Ga-LW02075, and Ga-LW02050 were 1.20 ± 0.31, 1.39 ± 0.54, and 8.53 ± 1.52 nM, respectively. Both Ga-LW02075 and Ga-LW02050 were confirmed to be GRPR antagonists by calcium release assay. Imaging studies showed that PC-3 prostate cancer tumor xenografts were clearly visualized at 1 h post injection by [ 68 Ga]Ga-SB3 and [ 68 Ga]Ga-LW02050 in PET images, but not by [ 68 Ga]Ga-LW02075. Ex vivo biodistribution studies conducted at 1 h post injection showed that the tumor uptake of [ 68 Ga]Ga-LW02050 was comparable to that of [ 68 Ga]Ga-SB3 (5.38 ± 1.00 vs. 6.98 ± 1.36 %ID/g), followed by [ 68 Ga]Ga-LW02075 (3.97 ± 1.71 %ID/g). [ 68 Ga]Ga-SB3 had the highest pancreas uptake (37.3 ± 6.90 %ID/g) followed by [ 68 Ga]Ga-LW02075 (17.8 ± 5.24 %ID/g), while the pancreas uptake of [ 68 Ga]Ga-LW02050 was only 0.53 ± 0.11 %ID/g. Our data suggest that [ 68 Ga]Ga-LW02050 is a promising PET tracer for detecting GRPR-expressing cancer lesions.