New Macrobicyclic Chelator for the Development of Ultrastable Cu-64-Radiolabeled Bioconjugate

Ethylene cross-bridged cyclam with two acetate pendant arms, ECB-TE2A, is known to form the most kinetically stable 64Cu complexes. However, its usefulness as a bifunctional chelator is limited because of its harsh radiolabeling conditions. Herein, we report new cross-bridged cyclam chelator for the development of ultrastable 64Cu-radiolabeled bioconjugates. Propylene cross-bridged TE2A (PCB-TE2A) was successfully synthesized in an efficient way. The Cu(II) complex of PCB-TE2A exhibited much higher kinetic stability than ECB-TE2A in acid decomplexation studies, and also showed high resistance to reduction-mediated demetalation. Furthermore, the quantitative radiolabeling of PCB-TE2A with 64Cu was achieved under milder conditions compared to ECB-TE2A. Biodistribution studies strongly indicate that the 64Cu complexes of PCB-TE2A cleared out rapidly from the body with minimum decomplexation. © 2012 American Chemical Society.

New Bifunctional Chelator for Cu-64-Immuno-Positron Emission Tomography

A new tetraazamacrocyclic bifunctional chelator, TE2A-Bn-NCS, was synthesized in high overall yield from cyclam. An extra functional group (NCS) was introduced to the N-atom of TE2A for specific conjugation with antibody. The Cu complex of TE2A-Bn-NCS showed high kinetic stability in acidic decomplexation and cyclic voltammetry studies. X-ray structure determination of the Cu-TE2A-Bn-NH2 complex confirmed octahedral geometry, in which copper atom is strongly coordinated by four macrocyclic nitrogens in equatorial positions and two carboxylate oxygen atoms occupy the elongated axial positions. Trastuzumab was conjugated with TE2A-Bn-NCS and then radiolabeled with 64Cu quantitatively at room temperature within 10 min. Biodistribution studies showed that the 64Cu-labeled TE2A-Bn-NCS-trastuzumab conjugates maintain high stability in physiological conditions, and NIH3T6.7 tumors were clearly visualized up to 3 days by 64Cu-immuno-positron emission tomography imaging in animal models. © 2013 American Chemical Society.

Propylene Cross-Bridged Macrocyclic Bifunctional Chelator: A New Design for Facile Bioconjugation and Robust Cu-64 Complex Stability

The first macrocyclic bifunctional chelator incorporating propylene cross-bridge was efficiently synthesized from cyclam in seven steps. After the introduction of an extra functional group for facile conjugation onto the propylene cross-bridge, the two carboxylic acid pendants could contribute to strong coordination of Cu(II) ions, leading to a robust Cu complex. The cyclic RGD peptide conjugate of PCB-TE2A-NCS was prepared and successfully radiolabeled with 64Cu ion. The radiolabeled peptide conjugate was evaluated in vivo through a biodistribution study and animal PET imaging to demonstrate high tumor uptake with low background. © 2014 American Chemical Society.