The conjugation of targeted therapy and image-guided phototdynamic therapy of cancer in vitro and in vivo.

Integration of multi-functional diagnosis and treatment competencies can improve effect of the drug and its visual distribution to the location of tumor focus site, and play a pivotal role by visualizing the tumor size in the assessment of chemotherapy. With the objective of developing integrated multi-therapeutic and diagnostic agent that could target the kinase receptor with high expression in tumor cells, herein, a biologically releasable drug-drug conjugate compound 9 with dual therapeutic and diagnostic effects was designed, synthesized and evaluated for pharmacodynamics and diagnostic functions in vitro and in vivo. The results of antitumor effects evaluations and compound 9 visual imaging indicated that compound 9 not only improved the anti-proliferative activity of chemotherapy and photodynamic treatment (PDT) in vitro and in vivo compared with those of compound 8 and PpIX but also allowed the photodynamic diagnosis (PDD). The present study verified a facile and effective strategy using a drug-drug conjugate to integrate diagnosis and multi-therapies, showing its potential a candidate clinical drug.

Novel promising 4-anilinoquinazoline-based derivatives as multi-target RTKs inhibitors: Design, molecular docking, synthesis, and antitumor activities in vitro and vivo.

4-Anilinoquinazoline derivatives function as tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). Novel TKIs are needed for cancer mutations and drug-resistant cells. We designed and synthesized 4-anilinoquinazoline derivatives with substitutions at quinazoline positions 6, 7 and 4 using a binding model with multi-target receptor tyrosine kinases, and assessed their antitumor activity against five human tumor cell lines (HepG2, A549, MCF-7, DU145, SH-SY5Y). The majority of the compounds inhibited the proliferation of all the cancer cell types, with some compounds displaying selective inhibition. Compounds 21, 25, 27, and 37 displayed IC50 values of 7.588, 8.619, 6.936, and 8.516 µM, respectively, for A549 cells, which were much lower than that of Gefitinib (14.803 µM). Compound 32 displayed an IC50 value of 2.756 µM for DU145 cells. The representative compound 40 had unexceptionable broad-spectrum inhibition for all cancer cell types, and demonstrate inhibition of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR-2), platelet-derived growth factor receptor beta (PDGFR-ß), and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) with IC50 values of 46.4, 673.6 and 384.8 nM, respectively, which were similar to those of Sorafenib for VEGFR-2 and PDGFR-ß (140.6 and 582.7 nM, respectively). Molecular docking results supported the molecular level assay results. Data for production of reactive oxygen species and assessment of matrix metalloproteinase corroborated the strong anti-proliferative effect of compound 40. The compound also displayed robust antitumor efficacy and relativity lower toxicity in a xenograft model. These attributes were similar to those of Sorafenib. Compound 40 drug warrants further study as a candidate.

Synthesis and evaluation of novel 18 F-labeled quinazoline derivatives with low lipophilicity for tumor PET imaging.

Four novel 18 F-labeled quinazoline derivatives with low lipophilicity, [18 F]4-(2-fluoroethoxy)-6,7-dimethoxyquinazoline ([18 F]I), [18 F]4-(3-((4-(2-fluoroethoxy)-7-methoxyquinazolin-6-yl)oxy)propyl)morpholine ([18 F]II), [18 F]4-(2-fluoroethoxy)-7-methoxy-6-(2-methoxyethoxy)quinazoline ([18 F]III), and [18 F]4-(2-fluoroethoxy)-6,7-bis(2-methoxyethoxy)quinazoline ([18 F]IV), were synthesized via a 2-step radiosynthesis procedure with an overall radiochemical yield of 10% to 38% (without decay correction) and radiochemical purities of >98%. The lipophilicity and stability of labeled compounds were tested in vitro. The log P values of the 4 radiotracers ranged from 0.52 to 1.07. We then performed ELISA to measure their affinities to EGFR-TK; ELISA assay results indicated that each inhibitor was specifically bounded to EGFR-TK in a dose-dependent manner. The EGFR-TK autophosphorylation IC50 values of [18 F]I, [18 F]II, [18 F]III, and [18 F]IV were 7.732, 0.4698, 0.1174, and 0.1176 µM, respectively. All labeled compounds were evaluated via cellular uptake and blocking studies in HepG2 cell lines in vitro. Cellular uptake and blocking experiment results indicated that [18 F]I and [18 F]III had excellent cellular uptake at 120-minute postinjection in HepG2 carcinoma cells (51.80 ± 3.42%ID/mg protein and 27.31 ± 1.94%ID/mg protein, respectively). Additionally, biodistribution experiments in S180 tumor-bearing mice in vivo indicated that [18 F]I had a very fast clearance in blood and a relatively high uptake ratio of tumor to blood (4.76) and tumor to muscle (1.82) at 60-minute postinjection. [18 F]III had a quick clearance in plasma, and its highest uptake ratio of tumor to muscle was 2.55 at 15-minute postinjection. These experimental results and experiences were valuable for the further exploration of novel radiotracers of quinazoline derivatives.

Single Nucleotide Polymorphism Genotyping in Single-Molecule Electronic Circuits.

Establishing low-cost, high-throughput, simple, and accurate single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping techniques is beneficial for understanding the intrinsic relationship between individual genetic variations and their biological functions on a genomic scale. Here, a straightforward and reliable single-molecule approach is demonstrated for precise SNP authentication by directly measuring the fluctuations in electrical signals in an electronic circuit, which is fabricated from a high-gain field-effect silicon nanowire decorated with a single hairpin DNA, in the presence of different target DNAs. By simply comparing the proportion difference of a probe-target duplex structure throughout the process, this study implements allele-specific and accurate SNP detection. These results are supported by the statistical analyses of different dynamic parameters such as the mean lifetime and the unwinding probability of the duplex conformation. In comparison with conventional polymerase chain reaction and optical methods, this convenient and label-free method is complementary to existing optical methods and also shows several advantages, such as simple operation and no requirement for fluorescent labeling, thus promising a futuristic route toward the next-generation genotyping technique.

Direct Measurement of Single-Molecule Adenosine Triphosphatase Hydrolysis Dynamics.

F1-ATPase (F1) is a bidirectional molecular motor that hydrolyzes nearly all ATPs to fuel the cellular processes. Optical observation of labeled F1 rotation against the α3ß3 hexamer ring revealed the sequential mechanical rotation steps corresponding to ATP binding/ADP release and ATP hydrolysis/Pi release. These substeps originate from the F1 rotation but with heavy load on the γ shaft due to fluorescent labeling and the photophysical limitation of an optical microscope, which hampers better understanding of the intrinsic kinetic behavior of ATP hydrolysis. In this work, we present a method capable of electrically monitoring ATP hydrolysis of a single label-free F1 in real time by using a high-gain silicon nanowire-based field-effect transistor circuit. We reproducibly observe the regular current signal fluctuations with two distinct levels, which are induced by the binding dwell and the catalytic dwell, respectively, in both concentration- and temperature-dependent experiments. In comparison with labeled F1, the hydrolysis rate of nonlabeled F1 used in this study is 1 order of magnitude faster (1.69 × 108 M-1 s-1 at 20 °C), and the differences between two sequential catalytic rates are clearer, demonstrating the ability of nanowire nanocircuits to directly probe the intrinsic dynamic processes of the biological activities with single-molecule/single-event sensitivity. This approach is complementary to traditional optical methods, offering endless opportunities to unravel molecular mechanisms of a variety of dynamic biosystems under realistic physiological conditions.

Development of a series of novel 4-anlinoquinazoline derivatives possessing quinazoline skeleton: Design, synthesis, EGFR kinase inhibitory efficacy, and evaluation of anticancer activities in vitro.

4-anilinoquinazoline-based derivatives represent an attractive scaffold for small molecular EGFR-TKIs in the field of medicinal chemistry. A series of novel heterocyclic substituted derivatives have been designed, synthesized and evaluated their antitumor bioactivities as potential EGFR-TKIs. Most of the new compounds exhibited certain efficient inhibition potency for proliferation of a panel of five human cancer cells with IC50 values at the low micromolar level, and some of them possessed good broad-spectrum inhibition activities, compared to Gefitinib. Especially, the IC50 values of compound 21 against HepG2, A549, MCF-7, DU145 and SH-SY5Y cells were 4.61, 9.50, 9.80, 6.79 and 7.77 µM, respectively, which were much lower than those of Gefitinb. Furthermore, the highlighting compound 21 demonstrated excellent inhibition activity against EGFR-TK with the IC50 value of 3.62 nM, similar to that of Gefitinib(2.21 nM). The results of LDH release assay proved that compound 21 was anti-proliferative rather than cytotoxicity on HepG2 cells. Compound 21 were able to cause HepG2 cells to block in S phase and induce cell death mainly by apoptosis through a mitochondrial dependent pathway. Moreover, the assessment of MMP, the determination of intracellular free Ca2+ concentration, the production of ROS, and the effects on the activity of caspase-3 in a dose-dependent manner demonstrated that compound 21 induced cell apoptosis in HepG2 cells through the Ca2+/ROS-mediated mitochondria/caspase-dependent apoptosis pathway largely. These preliminary results evidenced that compound 21 could be a potential antitumor agent deserving further study.

Direct real-time detection of single proteins using silicon nanowire-based electrical circuits.

We present an efficient strategy through surface functionalization to build a single silicon nanowire field-effect transistor-based biosensor that is capable of directly detecting protein adsorption/desorption at the single-event level. The step-wise signals in real-time detection of His-tag F1-ATPases demonstrate a promising electrical biosensing approach with single-molecule sensitivity, thus opening up new opportunities for studying single-molecule biophysics in broad biological systems.

Direct Measurement of Single-Molecule DNA Hybridization Dynamics with Single-Base Resolution.

Herein, we report label-free detection of single-molecule DNA hybridization dynamics with single-base resolution. By using an electronic circuit based on point-decorated silicon nanowires as electrical probes, we directly record the folding/unfolding process of individual hairpin DNAs with sufficiently high signal-to-noise ratio and bandwidth. These measurements reveal two-level current oscillations with strong temperature dependence, enabling us to determine the thermodynamic and kinetic properties of hairpin DNA hybridization. More importantly, successive, stepwise increases and decreases in device conductance at low temperature on a microsecond timescale are successfully observed, indicating a base-by-base unfolding/folding process. The process demonstrates a kinetic zipper model for DNA hybridization/dehybridization at the single base-pair level. This measurement capability promises a label-free single-molecule approach to probe biomolecular interactions with fast dynamics.

Design and synthesis of novel pyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidine derivatives bearing nitrogen mustard moiety and evaluation of their antitumor activity in vitro and in vivo.

A series of novel pyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidine derivatives bearing nitrogen mustard moiety were designed, synthesized and evaluated for their antiproliferative activities against five human cancer cell lines (A549, SH-SY5Y, HepG2, MCF-7 and DU145) in vitro. Among these compounds, 13b exhibited potent inhibitory effect on the proliferation of the five tumor cells and was able to inhibit cell cycle arrest at G1 phase and induce cell apoptosis. In HepG2 HCC xenograft compound 13b was selected for evaluating the antitumor activity in vivo which exhibited significant cancer growth inhibition with low host toxicity in vivo.

Novel [99mTcN]2+ labeled EGFR inhibitors as potential radiotracers for single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) tumor imaging.

The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is overexpressed in many cancers, including breast, ovarian, endometrial and non-small cell lung cancer. An EGFR-specific imaging agent could facilitate clinical evaluation of primary tumors or metastases. To achieve this goal, 4-(2-aminoethylamino)-6,7-dimethoxyquinazoline (ADMQ) was synthesized based on a 4-aminoquinazoline core and then conjugated with N-mercapto- acetylglycine (MAG) and N-mercaptoacetyltriglycine (MAG3), respectively, to give compounds 1 and 2. The final complexes [99mTcN]-1 and [99mTcN]-2 were successfully obtained with radiochemical purities of >99% and >98% as measured by radio-HPLC. No decomposition of the two complexes at room temperature was observed over a period of 2 h. Their partition coefficients indicated they were hydrophilic and the electrophoresis results showed they were negatively charged. Biodistribution in tumor-bearing mice demonstrated that the two new complexes showed tumor accumulation, high tumor-tomuscle (T/M) ratios and fast clearance from blood and muscle. Between the two compounds, the 99mTcN-MAG3-ADMQ ([99mTcN]-2) showed the better characteristics, with the tumor/muscle and tumor/blood ratios reached 2.11 and 1.90 at 60 min post-injection, 4.20 and 1.10 at 120 min post-injection, suggesting it could be a promising radiotracer for SPECT tumor imaging.

Design and synthesis of novel quinazoline nitrogen mustard derivatives as potential therapeutic agents for cancer.

Thirteen novel quinazoline nitrogen mustard derivatives were designed, synthesized and evaluated for their anticancer activities in vitro and in vivo. Cytotoxicity assays were carried out in five cancer cell lines (HepG2, SH-SY5Y, DU145, MCF-7 and A549) and one normal human cell line (GES-1), in which compound 22b showed very low IC50 to HepG2 (the IC50 value is 3.06 µM), which was lower than Sorafenib. Compound 22b could inhibit cell cycle at S and G2/M phase and induce cell apoptosis. In the HepG2 xenograft model, 22b exhibited significant cancer growth inhibition with low host toxicity in vivo.

Synthesis and evaluation of novel F-18 labeled 4-aminoquinazoline derivatives: potential PET imaging agents for tumor detection.

Three novel (18)F-labeled 4-aminoquinazoline derivatives, N-(3-chloro-4-fluorophenyl)-6-(2-[(18)F]fluoroethoxy)-7-methoxyquinazolin-4-amine([(18)F]1), N-(3-ethynylphenyl)-6-(2-[(18)F]fluoroethoxy)-7-methoxyquinazolin-4-amine([(18)F]2), and N-(3-bromophenyl)-6-(2-[(18)F]fluoroethoxy)-7-methoxyquinazolin-4-amine([(18)F]3) were synthesized and radiolabeled by two-step reaction with overall radiochemical yield of 21-24% (without decay corrected). Then we carried out their biodistribution experiments in S180 tumor-bearing mice. Results showed that they had certain concentration accumulation in tumor and fast clearance from muscle and blood. It was encouraging that [(18)F]3 was competitive among three (18)F-labeled 4-aminoquinazoline derivatives in some aspects such as tumor/muscle uptake ratio reaching 7.70 at 60 min post-injection, tumor/blood uptake ratio reaching 6.61 at 120 min post-injection. So we compared radioactivity characteristics of [(18)F]3 with those of [(18)F]-FDG and L-[(18)F]-FET in the same animal model. The absolute radioactivity uptake of [(18)F]3 in tumor reached 3.31 at 60 min p.i., which was slightly higher than [(18)F]-FDG (2.16) and L-[(18)F]-FET (2.75) at the same time phase. For [(18)F]3, tumor/muscle uptake ratio peaked 7.70 at 60 min, which was obviously superior to those of [(18)F]-FDG and L-[(18)F]-FET at all time points. The tumor/brain uptake ratios of [(18)F]3 were 10.36, 17.42, 41.11 at 30 min, 60 min and 120 min post-injection, respectively, and are much higher than those of L-[(18)F] FET (2.54, 2.92 and 2.95) and [(18)F]-FDG (0.61, 1.02 and 1.33) at the same time points. All these results indicate that [(18)F]3 is promising to become a potential PET tumor imaging agent.

7-Chloro-5-(chloro-meth-yl)pyrazolo-[1,5-a]pyrimidine-3-carbonitrile.

All non-H atoms of the title compound, C(8)H(4)Cl(2)N(4), are essentially coplanar, with an r.m.s. deviation of 0.011 Å. In the crystal, weak C-H⋯N hydrogen bonds link the mol-ecules into infinite sheets parallel to the bc plane.

18F-labeled pyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidine derivatives: synthesis from 2,4-dinitrobenzamide and tosylate precursors and comparative biological evaluation for tumor imaging with positron emission tomography.

We previously reported 18F-labeled pyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidine derivatives: 7-(2-[18F]fluoroethylamino)-5-methylpyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidine-3-carbonitrile ([18F]1) and N-(2-(3-cyano-5-methylpyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidin-7-ylamino)ethyl)-2-[18F]fluoro-4-nitro- benzamide ([18F]2). Preliminary biodistribution experiments of both compounds showed s slow clearance rate from excretory tissues which warranted further investigation for tumor imaging with PET. Here we modified [18F]1 and [18F]2 by introducing polar groups such as ester, hydroxyl and carboxyl and developed three additional 18F-18 labeled pyrazolo[1,5-a] pyrimidine derivatives: (3-Cyano-7-(2-[18F]fluoroethylamino)pyrazolo[1,5-a]-pyrimidin-5- yl)methyl acetate ([18F]3), 7-(2-[18F]fluoroethylamino)-5-(hydroxymethyl)pyrazolo[1,5-a]- pyrimidine-3-carbonitrile ([18F]4) and (S)-6-(3-cyano-5-methylpyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidin-7-ylamino)-2-(2-[18F]fluoro-4-nitrobenzamido)hexanoic acid ([18F]5). The radiolabeled probes were synthesized by nucleophilic substitution of the corresponding tosylate and nitro precursors with 18F-fluoride. In Vitro studies showed higher uptake of [18F]3 and [18F]4 than that of [18F]5 by S180 tumor cells. In Vivo biodistribution studies in mice bearing S180 tumors showed that the uptake of both [18F]3 and [18F]4 in tumors displayed an increasing trend while the uptake of [18F]5 in tumor decreased through the course of the 120 min study. This significant difference in tumor uptake was also found between [18F]1 and [18F]2. Thus, we compared the biological behavior of the five tracers and reported the tumor uptake kinetic differences between 2-[18F]fluoroethylamino- and 2-[18F]fluoro-4-nitro- benzamidopyrazolo[1,5-a] pyrimidine derivatives.

Treatment of alcohols with tosyl chloride does not always lead to the formation of tosylates.

Treatment of substituted benzyl alcohols with tosyl chloride resulted in the formation of the corresponding chlorides, not the usual tosylates. A series of experiments demonstrated that it was possible to predict whether chlorination or tosylation would occur for substituted benzyl alcohols and pyridine methanols. Treatment of electron withdrawing group-substituted benzyl alcohols with tosyl chloride gave the corresponding chlorides in moderate yields under mild conditions, which provided a simple way to directly prepare chlorides from alcohols.

Synthesis and biological evaluation of novel F-18 labeled pyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidine derivatives: potential PET imaging agents for tumor detection.

Two novel pyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidine derivatives, 7-(2-[(18)F]fluoroethylamino)-5-methylpyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidine-3-carbonitrile ([(18)F]FEMPPC, [(18)F]1) and N-(2-(3-cyano-5-methylpyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidin-7-ylamino)ethyl)-2-[(18)F]fluoro-4-nitrobenzamide ([(18)F]FCMPPN, [(18)F]2), have been designed and successively labeled with (18)F by the nucleophilic substitution employing tosylate and nitryl as leaving groups, respectively. The radiochemical synthesis of both compounds was completed within 60min with final high-performance liquid chromatography purification included. The corresponding radiochemical yields (without decay correction) were approximately 35% and 30%, respectively. Meanwhile, we compared the uptake characteristics of [(18)F]1 and [(18)F]2 with those of [(18)F]FDG and L-[(18)F]FET in S180 tumor cells. Furthermore, the tumor uptake of [(18)F]1 and [(18)F]2 was assessed in mice bearing S180 tumor and compared with [(18)F]FDG and L-[(18)F]FET in the same animal model. In vitro cell uptake studies showed [(18)F]1 had higher uptake than [(18)F]FDG, [(18)F]2 and L-[(18)F]FET over the 2h period. In ex vivo biodistribution showed tumor/brain uptake ratios of [(18)F]2 were 12.35, 10.44, 8.69 and 5.13 at 15 min, 30 min, 60 min and 120 min post-injection, much higher than those of L-[(18)F]FET (2.43, 2.54, 2.93 and 2.95) and [(18)F]FDG (0.59, 0.61, 1.02 and 1.33) at the same time point. What's more, the uptake of [(18)F]1 in tumor was 1.88, 4.37, 5.51, 2.95 and 2.88 at 5 min, 15 min, 30 min, 60 min and 120 min post-injection, respectively. There was a remarkable increasing trend before 30 min. The same trend was present for L-[(18)F]FET before 30 min and [(18)F]FDG before 60 min. Additionally, the tumor/brain uptake ratios of [(18)F]1 were superior to those of [(18)F]FDG at all the selected time points, the tumor/muscle and tumor/blood uptake ratios of [(18)F]1 at 30 min were higher than those of L-[(18)F]FET at the same time point. MicroPET image of [(18)F]1 administered into S180 tumor-bearing mouse acquired at 30 min post-injection illustrated that the uptake in S180 tumor was obvious. These results suggest that compound [(18)F]1 could be a new probe for PET tumor imaging.

Synthesis and biological evaluation of pyrazolo[1,5-a]-pyrimidine-containing 99mTc Nitrido radiopharmaceuticals as imaging agents for tumors.

The compound 5-((2-aminoethylamino)methyl)-7-(4-bromoanilino)-3-cyano-pyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidine (ABCPP) was synthesized and conjugated with N-mercapto-acetylglycine (MAG), N-mercaptoacetylphenylalanine (MAF) and N-mercaptoacetylvaline (MAA), respectively. These three compounds were labeled successfully with [99mTcN]2+ intermediate in high radiochemical purities. Biodistribution in tumor-bearing mice demonstrated that the three new complexes showed tumor accumulation, high tumor-to-muscle (T/M) ratios and fast clearance from blood and muscle. Among them, the 99mTcN-MAG-ABCPP showed the most favorable characteristics, with tumor/blood and tumor/ muscle ratios reaching 1.51 and 2.97 at 30 min post-injection, 1.84 and 2.49 at 60 min post-injection, suggesting it could be further studied as potential tumor imaging agent for single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT).

(18)F Labeled benzimidazole derivatives as potential radiotracer for positron emission tomography (PET) tumor imaging.

This article reported the synthesis and bioevaluation of two [(18)F] labeled benzimidazole derivatives, 4-(5-(2-[(18)F] fluoro-4-nitrobenzamido)-1-methyl-1H-benzimidazol-2-yl) butanoic acid ([(18)F] FNBMBBA, [(18)F]a1) and 3-(2-fluoroethyl)-7-methyl-2-propyl-3H-benzimidazole-5-carboxylic acid ([(18)F] FEMPBBA, [(18)F]b1) for PET tumor imaging. The preparation [(18)F] FEMPBBA was completed in 1h with overall radiochemical yield of 50-60% (without decay corrected). Biodistribution assay in S180 tumor bearing mice of both compounds were carried out, and the results are both meaningful. [(18)F] FEMPBBA which can be taken as a revision of [(18)F] FNBMBBA got an excellent result, and has significant advantages in some aspects compared with L-[(18)F] FET and [(18)F]-FDG in the same animal model, especially in tumor/brain uptake ratio. The tumor/brain uptake ratio of [(18)F] FEMPBBA gets to 4.81, 7.15, and 9.8 at 30min, 60min and 120min, and is much higher than that of L-[(18)F] FET (2.54, 2.92 and 2.95) and [(18)F]-FDG (0.61, 1.02, 1.33) at the same time point. The tumor/muscle and tumor/blood uptake ratio of [(18)F] FEMPBBA is also higher than that of L-[(18)F] FET at 30min and 60min. This result indicates compound [(18)F] FEMPBBA is a promising radiotracer for PET tumor imaging.

Synthesis and evaluation of novel F-18 labeled fluoroarylvaline derivatives: potential PET imaging agents for tumor detection.

Two F-18 labeled fluoroarylvaline derivatives, methyl 2-(2-[(18)F]fluoro-4-nitrobenzamido)-3-methylbutanoate ([(18)F]1, [(18)F]MFNBMB) and its corresponding acid 2-(2-[(18)F]fluoro-4-nitrobenzamido)-3-methylbutanoic acid ([(18)F]2, [(18)F]FNBMBA), have been designed and synthesized, respectively, by our team. Meanwhile, we research on their biodistributions in mice model bearing S 180 tumor. Furthermore, we also carried out the biological evaluations of 2-[(18)F]fluorodeoxyglucose ([(18)F]FDG) and O-2-[(18)F]fluoroethyl-l-tyrosine (l-[(18)F]FET) in the same model for comparison with our targeting molecules [(18)F]1 and [(18)F]2. Excitingly, the tumor/blood (T/Bl) and tumor/brain (T/Br) ratios were 2.91, 7.06 at 30 min, 3.44, 5.61 at 60 min post injection for [(18)F]1, 2.32, 13.30 for [(18)F]2 at 30 min post injection, which were obviously superior to [(18)F]FDG and l-[(18)F]FET in the same model and demonstrated that [(18)F]1 and [(18)F]2, especially [(18)F]2, were potential PET imaging agents for tumor detection.

Synthesis, biodistribution and quantitative structure-activity relationship studies of new 99mTc labeled pseudo-peptide complexes.

Twelve new peptide or pseudo-peptide chelators have been synthesized in the course of our continuing investigation of 99mTc-labelled peptides for application for renal imaging agents. All compounds were characterized on the basis of, IR, 1HNMR, 13CNMR spectroscopy, as well as MS and elemental analysis. All peptides yield stable 99mTc complexes using Sn(II) reactive coupling and exhibit renal uptake. Linear regression analysis between Logarithm of renal uptake value (RU) and the parameters obtained by the ZINDO/1 method was performed. Some equations were obtained which showed that molecular polar and charge have some relationship with their renal uptake.