Synthesis of a new fluorine-18 glycosylated 'click' cyanoquinoline for the imaging of epidermal growth factor receptor.

This study reports the radiosynthesis of a new fluorine-18 glycosylated 'click' cyanoquinoline [(18) F]5 for positron emission tomography imaging of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). The tracer was obtained in 47.7 ± 7.5% (n = 3) decay-corrected radiochemical yield from 2-[(18) F]fluoro-2-deoxy-ß-d-glucopyranosyl azide, and the overall nondecay-corrected radiochemical yield from aqueous fluoride was 8.6 ± 2.3% (n = 3). An in vitro preliminary cellular uptake study showed selectivity of the tracer for EGFR-positive A431 cell lines versus EGFR-negative MCF-7 cell lines. [(18) F]5 tracer uptake in A431 cells was significantly reduced by addition of the cold isotope analogue compound 5.

Copper-free click--a promising tool for pre-targeted PET imaging.

The copper-free click (CFC) reaction has been evaluated for its potential application to in vivo pre-targeting for PET imaging. A promising biodistribution profile is demonstrated when employing [(18)F]2-fluoroethylazide ([(18)F]1) and optimisation of the CFC reaction with a series of cyclooctynes shows that reactions proceed efficiently with tantalizing opportunities for application-specific tuning.

Targeting somatostatin receptors: preclinical evaluation of novel 18F-fluoroethyltriazole-Tyr3-octreotate analogs for PET.

UNLABELLED: The incidence and prevalence of gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors has been increasing over the past 3 decades. Because of high densities of somatostatin receptors (sstr)--mainly sstr-2--on the cell surface of these tumors, (111)In-diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid-octreotide scintigraphy has become an important part of clinical management. (18)F-radiolabeled analogs with suitable pharmacokinetics would permit PET with more rapid clinical protocols. METHODS: We compared the affinity in vitro and tissue pharmacokinetics by PET of 5 structurally related (19)F/(18)F-fluoroethyltriazole-Tyr(3)-octreotate (FET-TOCA) analogs: FET-G-polyethylene glycol (PEG)-TOCA, FETE-PEG-TOCA, FET-G-TOCA, FETE-TOCA, and FET-ßAG-TOCA to the recently described (18)F-aluminum fluoride NOTA-octreotide ((18)F-AIF-NOTA-OC) and the clinical radiotracer (68)Ga-DOTATATE. RESULTS: All (19)F-fluoroethyltriazole-Tyr(3)-octreotate compounds retained high agonist binding affinity to sstr-2 in vitro (half-maximal effective concentration, 4-19 nM vs. somatostatin at 5.6 nM). Dynamic PET showed that incorporation of PEG linkers, exemplified by (18)F-FET-G-PEG-TOCA and (18)F-FETE-PEG-TOCA, reduced uptake in high sstr-2-expressing AR42J pancreatic cancer xenografts. (18)F-FET-ßAG-TOCA showed the lowest nonspecific uptake in the liver. Tumor uptake increased in the order (68)Ga-DOTATATE < (18)F-AIF-NOTA ≤ (18)F-FET-ßAG-TOCA < (18)F-FET-G-TOCA. The uptake of (18)F-FET-ßAG-TOCA was specific: a radiolabeled scrambled peptide, (18)F-FET-ßAG-[W-c-(CTFTYC)K], did not show tumor uptake; there was lower uptake of (18)F-FET-ßAG-TOCA in AR42J xenografts when mice were pretreated with 10 mg of unlabeled octreotide per kilogram; and there was low uptake of (18)F-FET-ßAG-TOCA in low sstr-2-expressing HCT116 xenografts. CONCLUSION: We have developed novel fluoroethyltriazole-Tyr(3)-octreotate radioligands that combine high specific binding with rapid target localization and rapid pharmacokinetics for high-contrast PET. (18)F-FET-ßAG-TOCA and (18)F-FET-G-TOCA are candidates for future clinical evaluation.

Synthesis and in vitro evaluation of [18F]fluoroethyl triazole labelled [Tyr3]octreotate analogues using click chemistry.

A novel class of alkyne linked [Tyr(3)]octreotate analogues have been labelled by a copper catalysed azide-alkyne cycloaddition reaction (CuAAC) to form a 1,4-substituted triazole using the reagent [(18)F]2-fluoroethyl azide. An unexpected variability in reactivity during the CuAAC reaction was observed for each alkyne analogue which has been investigated. Two lead alkyne linked [Tyr(3)]octreotate analogues, G-TOCA (3a) and ßAG-TOCA (5a) have been identified to be highly reactive in the click reaction showing complete conversion to the [(18)F]2-fluoroethyl triazole linked [Tyr(3)]octreotate analogues FET-G-TOCA (3b) and FET-ßAG-TOCA (5b) under mild conditions and with short synthesis times (5 min at 20 °C). As well as ease of synthesis, in vitro binding to the pancreatic tumour AR42J cells showed that both FET-G-TOCA and FET-ßAG-TOCA have high affinity for the somatostatin receptor with IC(50) of 4.0±1.4, and 1.6±0.2 nM, respectively.

Synthesis of a series of phenylacetic acid 1-ß-O-acyl glucosides and comparison of their acyl migration and hydrolysis kinetics with the corresponding acyl glucuronides.

We report the synthesis of the 1-ß-O-acyl glucoside conjugates of phenylacetic acid (PAA), R- and S-α-methyl-PAA and α,α'-dimethyl-PAA, and measurement of their transacylation and hydrolysis reactivity by NMR methods. These are analogues of acyl glucuronides, the transacylation kinetics of which could be important in adverse drug effects. One aim of this work was to investigate whether, as previously postulated, the free carboxylate group of the acyl glucuronides plays a part in the mechanism of the internal acyl migration. In addition, such acyl glucosides are known to be endogenous biochemicals in their own right and investigation of their acyl migration propensities is novel. Our previously described selective acylation procedure has proved highly successful for 1-ß-O-acyl glucuronide synthesis and when subsequently applied to 6-O-trityl glucose, it gave good yields and excellent anomeric selectivity. Mild acidolysis of the O-trityl intermediates gave the desired acyl glucosides in excellent yield with essentially complete ß-selectivity. Measurement of the acyl glucoside transacylation kinetics by (1)H NMR spectroscopy, based simply on the disappearance of the 1-ß-isomer in aqueous buffer at pH 7.4, showed marked differences depending on the degree of methyl substitution. Further kinetic modelling of the isomerisation and hydrolysis reactions of the acyl glucosides showed considerable differences in kinetics for the various isomeric reactions. Reactions involving the -CH(2)OH group, presumably via a 6-membered ring ortho-ester intermediate, are facile and the α-glucoside anomers are significantly more reactive than their ß-counterparts. By comparison with degradation rates for the corresponding acyl glucuronides, it can be inferred that substitution of the carboxylate by -CH(2)OH in the acyl glucosides has a significant effect on acyl migration for those compounds, especially for rapidly transacylating molecules, and that thus the charged glucuronide carboxylate is a factor in the kinetics.

High-performance liquid chromatography/mass spectrometric and proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopic studies of the transacylation and hydrolysis of the acyl glucuronides of a series of phenylacetic acids in buffer and human plasma.

The use of high-performance liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (HPLC/MS) and proton nuclear magnetic resonance ((1)H NMR) spectroscopy for the kinetic analysis of acyl glucuronide (AG) isomerisation and hydrolysis of the 1-ß-O-acyl glucuronides (1-ß-O-AG) of phenylacetic acid, (R)- and (S)-α-methylphenylacetic acid and α,α-dimethylphenylacetic acid is described and compared. Each AG was incubated in both aqueous buffer, at pH 7.4, and control human plasma at 37°C. Aliquots of these incubations, taken throughout the reaction time-course, were analysed by HPLC/MS and (1)H NMR spectroscopy. In buffer, transacylation reactions predominated, with relatively little hydrolysis to the free aglycone observed. In human plasma incubations the calculated rates of reaction were much faster than for buffer and, in contrast to the observations in buffer, hydrolysis to the free aglycone was a significant contributor to the overall reaction.A diagnostic analytical methodology based on differential mass spectrometric fragmentation of 1-ß-O-AGs compared to the 2-, 3- and 4-positional isomers, which enables selective determination of the former, was confirmed and applied. These findings show that HPLC/MS offers a viable alternative to the more commonly used NMR spectroscopic approach for the determination of the transacylation and hydrolysis reactions of these AGs, with the major advantage of having the capability to do so in a complex biological matrix such as plasma.

Synthesis, transacylation kinetics and computational chemistry of a set of arylacetic acid 1beta-O-acyl glucuronides.

Many widely-used non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents (NSAIDs), e.g. ibuprofen, are extensively metabolised as their acyl glucuronides (AGs), and the reactivity of these AGs raises important questions regarding drug safety and toxicity. In order to understand better the structure-reactivity of these metabolites, we have performed a detailed study of the synthesis, structural analysis and computed transacylation reactivity of a set of acyl glucuronides (AGs) of phenylacetic acids with varying alpha-substitution. A selective acylation procedure was used to prepare all the desired 1-(phenyl)acetyl-beta-D-glucopyranuronic acids 9, 12, 13 and 15 as single 1beta-anomers in good yields. Their reactivity was measured using 1H NMR spectroscopy in pH 7.4 buffer: the dominance of transacylation over hydrolysis in this system was confirmed together with the measurement of half-lives of the 1beta-isomers of the AGs. The half-lives ranged from 20 min for compound 9 to 23 h for 15. The lack of any significant concentration dependence of the reactivity suggests that the main mechanism is intramolecular. A novel computational chemistry and modelling study was performed on both the ground states of the AGs and the transition states for acyl migration to search for correlations with the kinetic data and to probe the mechanistic detail of the acyl transfer. An excellent degree of correlation was found between the calculated activation energies and the rates of transacylation. Especially, transition state analysis provided for the first time a firm mechanistic explanation for the slower kinetics of the (S)-isomer AG 13 compared to the (R)-isomer 12, thus throwing important light on the pharmacokinetic behaviour of marketed NSAIDs.

Kinetic and J-resolved statistical total correlation NMR spectroscopy approaches to structural information recovery in complex reacting mixtures: application to acyl glucuronide intramolecular transacylation reactions.

We demonstrate here a new variant on a statistical spectroscopic method for recovering structural information on unstable intermediates formed in reaction mixtures. We exemplify this approach with respect to the internal acyl migration reactions of 1-beta-O-acyl glucuronides (AGs), which rearrange at neutral or slightly alkaline pH on a minute to hour time scale to yield a series of positional glucuronide ring isomers and alpha/beta anomers from the 1-beta (starting material), i.e. 2-beta, 2-alpha, 1-alpha, 3-beta, 3-alpha, and 4-beta, 4-alpha isomers together with the aglycon and alpha- and beta-glucuronic acid hydrolysis products. Multiple sequential 800 MHz cryoprobe (1)H NMR spectra (1D and 2D J-resolved, JRES) were collected on a 5.1 mM solution of a synthetic model drug glucuronide, 1-beta-O-acyl (S)-alpha-methyl phenylacetyl glucuronide (MPG) in 0.1 M sodium phosphate buffer in D2O at pD 7.4 over 18 h to monitor the reaction which leads to the formation of the eight positional isomers and hydrolysis products. As the reaction proceeds and new isomers form, the NMR signal intensities vary accordingly allowing the application of a novel kinetic variant on statistical total correlation spectroscopy (K-STOCSY) method to recover the connectivities between proton signals on the same reacting molecule based on their intensity covariance through time. We performed K-STOCSY analysis on both the standard 1D NMR spectra and the skyline projected singlets of the (1)H-(1)H JRES NMR spectra through time, i.e. the K-JRES-STOCSY experimental variant, which increases the effective spectral dispersion and is ideally suited for the analysis of heavily overlapped spin systems. High statistical correlations were observed between mutarotated alpha- and beta-anomers of individual positional isomers, as well as directly acyl migrated products and anticorrelation observed between signals from compounds that were being depleted as others increased, e.g. between the 1-beta and 2-alpha/2-beta isomers. This statistical kinetic approach enabled the recovery of structural connectivity information on all isomers allowing unequivocal resonance assignment, and this approach to spectroscopic information recovery has wider potential uses in the study of reactions that occur on the second-to-minute time scale in conditions where multiple sequential NMR spectra can be collected. JRES-STOCSY is also of potential use as a method for recovering spectroscopic information in highly overlapped NMR signals and spin systems in other types of complex mixture analysis.

NMR spectroscopic studies on the in vitro acyl glucuronide migration kinetics of Ibuprofen ((+/-)-(R,S)-2-(4-isobutylphenyl) propanoic acid), its metabolites, and analogues.

Carboxylic acid-containing drugs are often metabolized to 1-beta-O-acyl glucuronides (AGs). These can undergo an internal chemical rearrangement, and the resulting reactive positional isomers can bind to endogenous proteins, with clear potential for adverse effects. Additionally any 1-beta-O-acyl-glucuronidated phase I metabolite of the drug can also show this propensity, and investigation of the adverse effect potential of a drug also needs to consider such metabolites. Here the transacylation of the common drug ibuprofen and two of its metabolites is investigated in vitro. 1-beta-O-Acyl (S)-ibuprofen glucuronide was isolated from human urine and also synthesized by selective acylation. Urine was also used as a source of the (R)-ibuprofen, (S)-2-hydroxyibuprofen, and (S,S)-carboxyibuprofen AGs. The degradation rates (a combination of transacylation and hydrolysis) were measured using 1H NMR spectroscopy, and the measured decrease in the 1-beta anomer over time was used to derive half-lives for the glucuronides. The biosynthetic and chemically synthesized (S)-ibuprofen AGs had half-lives of 3.68 and 3.76 h, respectively. (R)-Ibuprofen AG had a half-life of 1.79 h, a value approximately half that of the (S)-diastereoisomer, consistent with results from other 2-aryl propionic acid drug AGs. The 2-hydroxyibuprofen and carboxyibuprofen AGs gave half-lives of 5.03 and 4.80 h, considerably longer than that of either of the parent drug glucuronides. In addition, two (S)-ibuprofen glucuronides were synthesized with the glucuronide carboxyl function esterified with either ethyl or allyl groups. The (S)-ibuprofen AG ethyl ester and (S)-ibuprofen AG allyl esters were determined to have half-lives of 7.24 and 9.35 h, respectively. In order to construct useful structure-reactivity relationships, it is necessary to evaluate transacylation and hydrolysis separately, and here it is shown that the (R)- and (S)-ibuprofen AGs have different transacylation properties. The implications of these findings are discussed in terms of structure-activity relationships.