Dataset Information

Production of diverse PET probes with limited resources: 24 18F-labeled compounds prepared with a single radiosynthesizer.

ABSTRACT: New radiolabeled probes for positron-emission tomography (PET) are providing an ever-increasing ability to answer diverse research and clinical questions and to facilitate the discovery, development, and clinical use of drugs in patient care. Despite the high equipment and facility costs to produce PET probes, many radiopharmacies and radiochemistry laboratories use a dedicated radiosynthesizer to produce each probe, even if the equipment is idle much of the time, to avoid the challenges of reconfiguring the system fluidics to switch from one probe to another. To meet growing demand, more cost-efficient approaches are being developed, such as radiosynthesizers based on disposable "cassettes," that do not require reconfiguration to switch among probes. However, most cassette-based systems make sacrifices in synthesis complexity or tolerated reaction conditions, and some do not support custom programming, thereby limiting their generality. In contrast, the design of the ELIXYS FLEX/CHEM cassette-based synthesizer supports higher temperatures and pressures than other systems while also facilitating flexible synthesis development. In this paper, the syntheses of 24 known PET probes are adapted to this system to explore the possibility of using a single radiosynthesizer and hot cell for production of a diverse array of compounds with wide-ranging synthesis requirements, alongside synthesis development efforts. Most probes were produced with yields and synthesis times comparable to literature reports, and because hardware modification was unnecessary, it was convenient to frequently switch among probes based on demand. Although our facility supplies probes for preclinical imaging, the same workflow would be applicable in a clinical setting.

SUBMITTER: Collins J

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5664529 | biostudies-other | 2017 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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Production of diverse PET probes with limited resources: 24 <sup>18</sup>F-labeled compounds prepared with a single radiosynthesizer.

Collins Jeffrey J Waldmann Christopher M CM Drake Christopher C Slavik Roger R Ha Noel S NS Sergeev Maxim M Lazari Mark M Shen Bin B Chin Frederick T FT Moore Melissa M Sadeghi Saman S Phelps Michael E ME Murphy Jennifer M JM van Dam R Michael RM

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 20171010 43

New radiolabeled probes for positron-emission tomography (PET) are providing an ever-increasing ability to answer diverse research and clinical questions and to facilitate the discovery, development, and clinical use of drugs in patient care. Despite the high equipment and facility costs to produce PET probes, many radiopharmacies and radiochemistry laboratories use a dedicated radiosynthesizer to produce each probe, even if the equipment is idle much of the time, to avoid the challenges of reco ...[more]

PMID: 29073049

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Project description:Fully automated radiosynthesizers are continuing to be developed to meet the growing need for the reliable production of PET tracers made under current good manufacturing practice guidelines. There is a current trend toward supporting kitlike disposable cassettes that come preconfigured for particular tracers, thus eliminating the need for cleaning protocols between syntheses and enabling quick transitions to synthesizing other tracers. Though ideal for production, these systems are often limited for the development of novel tracers because of pressure, temperature, and chemical compatibility considerations. This study demonstrated the versatile use of the ELIXYS fully automated radiosynthesizer to adapt and produce 8 different (18)F-labeled PET tracers of varying complexity.Three-reactor syntheses of 2-deoxy-2-(18)F-fluoro-?-d-arabinofuranosylcytosine (d-(18)F-FAC), 2-deoxy-2-(18)F-fluoro-5-methyl-?-l-arabinofuranosyluracil (l-(18)F-FMAU), and 2-deoxy-2-(18)F-fluoro-5-ethyl-?-d-arabinofuranosyluracil (d-(18)F-FEAU) along with the 1-reactor syntheses of d-(18)F-FEAU, (18)F-FDG, 3-deoxy-3-(18)F-fluoro-l-thymidine ((18)F-FLT), (18)F-fallypride, 9-(4-(18)F-fluoro-3-hydroxymethylbutyl)-guanine ((18)F-FHBG), and N-succinimidyl-4-(18)F-fluorobenzoate ((18)F-SFB), were all produced using ELIXYS without the need for any hardware modifications or reconfiguration. Synthesis protocols were adapted and slightly modified from those in the literature but were not fully optimized. Furthermore, (18)F-FLT, (18)F-FDG, and (18)F-fallypride were produced sequentially on the same day and used for preclinical imaging of A431 tumor-bearing severe combined immunodeficient mice and wild-type BALB/c mice. To assess future translation to the clinical setting, several batches of tracers were subjected to a full set of quality control tests.All tracers were produced with radiochemical yields comparable to those in the literature. (18)F-FLT, (18)F-FDG, and (18)F-fallypride were successfully used to image the mice, with results consistent with those reported in the literature. All tracers that were subjected to clinical quality control tests passed.The ELIXYS radiosynthesizer facilitates rapid tracer development and is capable of producing multiple (18)F-labeled PET tracers suitable for clinical applications using the same hardware setup.

Project description:Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is often overexpressed in a variety of human cancers, and its expression is associated with poor prognosis for many cancer types. However, an accurate technique to noninvasively image EGFR expression in vivo is not available in the clinical setting. In this research, an Affibody analog, anti-EGFR Ac-Cys-Z(EGFR:1907), was successfully site-specifically (18)F-labeled for PET of EGFR expression.The prosthetic group N-[2-(4-(18)F-fluorobenzamido) ethyl] maleimide ((18)F-FBEM) was conjugated to Ac-Cys-Z(EGFR:1907) under mild conditions (pH 7) to produce the probe (18)F-FBEM-Cys-Z(EGFR:1907). The binding affinity and specificity tests of (18)F-FBEM-Cys-Z(EGFR:1907) to EGFR were conducted using A431 cancer cells. Small-animal PET and biodistribution studies were conducted on various mice tumor xenograft models with EGFR overexpression (6 types) after injection of approximately 2.0 MBq of (18)F-FBEM-Cys-Z(EGFR:1907) with or without coinjection of unlabeled Ac-Cys-Z(EGFR:1907) for up to 3 h after injection. A correlation study between (18)F-FBEM-Cys-Z(EGFR:1907) small- animal PET quantification and ex vivo Western blot analysis of tumor EGFR expression was conducted in those 6 types of tumor models.(18)F-FBEM-Cys-Z(EGFR:1907) binds to EGFR with low nanomolar affinity (37 nM) in A431 cells. (18)F-FBEM-Cys-Z(EGFR:1907) rapidly accumulated in the tumor and cleared from most of the normal organs except the liver and kidneys at 3 h after injection, allowing excellent tumor-to-normal tissue contrast to be obtained. In the A431 tumor xenograft model, coinjection of the PET probe with 45 ?g of Ac-Cys-Z(EGFR:1907) was able to improve the tumor uptake (3.9 vs. 8.1 percentage of the injected radioactive dose per gram of tissue, at 3 h after injection) and tumor imaging contrast, whereas coinjection with 500 ?g of Ac-Cys-Z(EGFR:1907) successfully blocked the tumor uptake significantly (8.1 vs. 1.0 percentage of the injected radioactive dose per gram of tissue, at 3 h after injection, 88% inhibition, P < 0.05). Moderate correlation was found between the tumor tracer uptake at 3 h after injection quantified by PET and EGFR expression levels measured by Western blot assay (P = 0.007, R = 0.59).(18)F-FBEM-Cys-Z(EGFR:1907) is a novel protein scaffold-based PET probe for imaging EGFR overexpression of tumors, and its ability to differentiate tumors with high and low EGFR expression in vivo holds promise for future clinical translation.

Project description:OBJECTIVE:Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is a theranostic biomarker for a variety of cancer types. The aim of the present study was to develop an 18F radiolabeled EGFR targeting RNA aptamer, and to investigate its ability to visualize and quantify EGFR in xenograft models. METHODS:Biolayer interferometry binding assay was used to detect the binding affinity of the alkyne-modified EGFR aptamer MinE07 (denoted as ME07) with recombinant human wild-type EGFR protein and the mutant EGFRvIII protein. Cy5-conjugated ME07 was used for flow cytometry and immunofluorescence staining, and an Alexa Fluor 488-labeled EGFR antibody (ab193244) was used as a control. 18F-Fluorobenzoyl (FB) azide was employed as a synthon to produce 18F-FB-ME07 via click chemistry, and the cellular uptake and internalization characteristics of 18F-FB-ME07 were investigated. Static PET scans, 60-min dynamic scans, and biodistribution study of 18F-FB-ME07 were performed in three types of tumor models. RESULTS:The Kd values of ME07 to wtEGFR and EGFRvIII proteins were 0.3 nM and 271 nM respectively. The A431, U87MG, and HCT-116 cells showed strong, weak, and negative binding with Cy5-ME07, which is consistent with EGFR expression level in these cells. Peak cell uptake values of 18F-FB-ME07 in A431, U87MG and HCT-116 cells were 2.86%, 2.19% and 0.88% of the added dose respectively. The mean internalization of 18F-FB-ME07 in these cells were 60.02%, 53.1%, and 52.8% of the total accumulated radioactivity. In static PET imaging, despite high uptake in the liver and kidneys, 18F-FB-ME07 showed reasonable accumulation in A431 tumors (1.02?±?0.13 %ID/g at 30 min after injection). Of note, the uptake of 18F-FB-ME07 in A431 xenografts was significantly higher than that in U87MG and HCT-116 xenografts. In A431 xenografted mice, the tumor/blood ratio was 3.89 and the tumor/muscle ratio reached 8.65. CONCLUSIONS:We for the first time generated an aptamer-derived EGFR targeting PET tracer 18F-FB-ME07, which showed highly selective targeting ability in mouse tumor models expressing different levels of EGFR. Our results suggest that 18F-FB-ME07 is a potential EGFR targeting molecular imaging probe for future clinical translation.

Project description:Radiofluorinated benzamide and nicotinamide analogues are promising molecular probes for the positron emission tomography (PET) imaging of melanoma. Compounds containing aromatic (benzene or pyridine) and N,N-diethylethylenediamine groups have been successfully used for development of melanin targeted PET and single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) imaging agents for melanoma. The objective of this study was to determine the feasibility of using aliphatic compounds as a molecular platform for the development of a new generation of PET probes for melanoma detection. An aliphatic N,N-diethylethylenediamine precursor was directly coupled to a radiofluorination synthon, p-nitrophenyl 2-(18)F-fluoropropionate ((18)F-NFP), to produce the probe N-(2-(diethylamino)ethyl)-2-(18)F-fluoropropanamide ((18)F-FPDA). The melanoma-targeting ability of (18)F-FPDA was further evaluated both in vitro and in vivo through cell uptake assays, biodistribution studies, and small animal PET imaging in C57BL/6 mice bearing B16F10 murine melanoma tumors. Beginning with the precursor (18)F-NFP, the total preparation time for (18)F-FPDA, including the final high-performance liquid chromatography purification step, was approximately 30 min, with a decay-corrected radiochemical yield of 79.8%. The melanin-targeting specificity of (18)F-FPDA was demonstrated by significantly different uptake rates in tyrosine-treated and untreated B16F10 cells in vitro. The tumor uptake of (18)F-FPDA in vivo reached 2.65 ± 0.48 %ID/g at 2 h postinjection (p.i.) in pigment-enriched B16F10 xenografts, whereas the tumor uptake of (18)F-FPDA was close to the background levels, with rates of only 0.37 ± 0.07 %ID/g at 2 h p.i. in the nonpigmented U87MG tumor mouse model. Furthermore, small animal PET imaging studies revealed that (18)F-FPDA specifically targeted the melanotic B16F10 tumor, yielding a tumor-to-muscle ratio of approximately 4:1 at 1 h p.i. and 7:1 at 2 h p.i. In summary, we report the development of a novel (18)F-labeled aliphatic compound for melanoma imaging that can be easily synthesized in high yields using the radiosynthon (18)F-NFP. The PET probe (18)F-FPDA exhibits high B16F10 tumor-targeting efficacy and favorable in vivo pharmacokinetics. Our study demonstrates that aliphatic compounds can be used as a new generation molecular platform for the development of novel melanoma targeting agents. Further evaluation and optimization of (18)F-FPDA for melanin targeted molecular imaging are therefore warranted.

Project description:Integrin ?v?6 is a cell surface receptor minimally expressed by healthy tissue but elevated in lung, colon, skin, ovarian, cervical, and pancreatic cancers. A molecular PET agent for integrin ?v?6 could provide significant clinical utility by facilitating both cancer staging and treatment monitoring to more rapidly identify an effective therapeutic approach.Here, we evaluated 2 cystine knot peptides, R01 and S02, previously engineered with a 3-6 nM affinity for integrin ?v?6, for (18)F radiolabeling and PET imaging of BxPC3 pancreatic adenocarcinoma xenografts in mice. Cystine knot peptides were labeled with N-succinimidyl-4-(18)F-fluorobenzoate and evaluated for binding affinity and serum stability. Peptides conjugated with (18)F-fluorobenzoate (2-3 MBq) were injected via the tail vein into nude mice xenografted with BxPC3 (integrin ?v?6-positive) or 293 (integrin ?v?6-negative) tumors. Small-animal PET scans were acquired at 0.5, 1, and 2 h after injection. Ex vivo ?-counting of dissected tissues was performed at 0.5 and 2 h.(18)F-fluorobenzoate peptides were produced in 93% ((18)F-fluorobenzoate-R01) and 99% ((18)F-fluorobenzoate-S02) purity. (18)F-fluorobenzoate-R01 and (18)F-fluorobenzoate-S02 had affinities of 1.1 ± 0.2 and 0.7 ± 0.4 nM, respectively, and were 87% and 94%, respectively, stable in human serum at 37°C for 2 h. (18)F-fluorobenzoate-R01 and (18)F-fluorobenzoate-S02 exhibited 2.3 ± 0.6 and 1.3 ± 0.4 percentage injected dose per gram (%ID/g), respectively, in BxPC3 xenografted tumors at 0.5 h (n = 4-5). Target specificity was confirmed by low tumor uptake in integrin ?v?6-negative 293 tumors (1.4 ± 0.6 and 0.5 ± 0.2 %ID/g, respectively, for (18)F-fluorobenzoate-R01 and (18)F-fluorobenzoate-S02; both P < 0.05; n = 3-4) and low muscle uptake (3.1 ± 1.0 and 2.7 ± 0.4 tumor to muscle for (18)F-fluorobenzoate-R01 and (18)F-fluorobenzoate-S02, respectively). Small-animal PET data were corroborated by ex vivo ?-counting of dissected tissues, which demonstrated low uptake in nontarget tissues with only modest kidney uptake (9.2 ± 3.3 and 1.9 ± 1.2 %ID/g, respectively, at 2 h for (18)F-fluorobenzoate-R01 and (18)F-fluorobenzoate-S02; n = 8). Uptake in healthy pancreas was low (0.3% ± 0.1% for (18)F-fluorobenzoate-R01 and 0.03% ± 0.01% for (18)F-fluorobenzoate-S02; n = 8).These cystine knot peptide tracers, in particular (18)F-fluorobenzoate-R01, show translational promise for molecular imaging of integrin ?v?6 overexpression in pancreatic and other cancers.

Dataset Information

Production of diverse PET probes with limited resources: 24 18F-labeled compounds prepared with a single radiosynthesizer.

Publications

Production of diverse PET probes with limited resources: 24 <sup>18</sup>F-labeled compounds prepared with a single radiosynthesizer.

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