Use of non-aqueous solvents in the synthesis of radioconjugate DOTA-1--octreotide labeled with gallium-68

Neuroendocrine tumors specifically over-express somatostatin receptors. Their diagnosis has expanded due to radiolabelling of DOTA-peptides such as somatostatin analogue DOTA-1--Octreotide (DOTA-NOC) conjugated to β+ emitting radionuclides such as , with very favorable decay-properties. This paper describes the radiolabeling procedures of DOTA-NOC with , in a pure aqueous medium and in presence of non-aqueous solvents as well as the methods used for quality control where a formulation is obtained with a radiochemical yield exceeding 95%. Adding ethanol (30 % - v / v) to the reaction mixture allowed increasing the specific activity of -DOTA-NOC radioconjugated, reaching a value of 182 MBq / nmol, higher than reported in literature (50 MBq / nmol) for labeling in a pure aqueous medium. Stability studies are also presented (in presence of saline solution and saline phosphate buffer, transmetallation studies in , , and solutions, challenges competition against EDTA and DTPA chelators and in vitro stability in human transferrin) performed to -DOTA-NOC radioconjugated, showing its high stability (> 95 %). Compared with the aqueous medium, the use of non aqueous solvents in the synthesis of radioconjugate DOTA-1--octreotide labeled with gallium-68, helps reduce the mass of conjugate and the reaction time, significantly increase yields and specific activity of the labeled compound. This could facilitate obtaining the product with better characteristics in modular systems that are under development.