Enantioselective synthesis of 11C-labeled phenylethanolamine

Radiosynthesis, Preclinical, and Clinical Positron Emission Tomography Studies of Carbon-11 Labeled Endogenous and Natural Exogenous Compounds

The presence of positron emission tomography (PET) centers at most major hospitals worldwide, along with the improvement of PET scanner sensitivity and the introduction of total body PET systems, has increased the interest in the PET tracer development using the short-lived radionuclides carbon-11. In the last few decades, methodological improvements and fully automated modules have allowed the development of carbon-11 tracers for clinical use. Radiolabeling natural compounds with carbon-11 by substituting one of the backbone carbons with the radionuclide has provided important information on the biochemistry of the authentic compounds and increased the understanding of their in vivo behavior in healthy and diseased states. The number of endogenous and natural compounds essential for human life is staggering, ranging from simple alcohols to vitamins and peptides. This review collates all the carbon-11 radiolabeled endogenous and natural exogenous compounds synthesised to date, including essential information on their radiochemistry methodologies and preclinical and clinical studies in healthy subjects.

Radiolabeling with [11C]HCN for Positron emission tomography

Hydrogen cyanide (HCN) is a versatile synthon for generating carbon‑carbon and carbon-heteroatom bonds. Unlike other one-carbon synthons (i.e., CO, CO2), HCN can function as a nucleophile (as in potassium cyanide, KCN) and an electrophile (as in cyanogen bromide, (CN)Br). The incorporation of the CN motif into organic molecules generates nitriles, hydantoins and (thio)cyanates, which can be converted to carboxylic acids, aldehydes, amides and amines. Such versatile chemistry is particularly attractive in PET radiochemistry where diverse bioactive small molecules incorporating carbon-11 in different positions need to be produced. The first examples of making [11C]HCN for radiolabeling date back to the 1960s. During the ensuing decades, [11C]cyanide labeling was popular for producing biologically important molecules including 11C-labeled α-amino acids, sugars and neurotransmitters. [11C]cyanation is now reemerging in many PET centers due to its versatility for making novel tracers. Here, we summarize the chemistry of [11C]HCN, review the methods to make [11C]HCN past and present, describe methods for labeling different types of molecules with [11C]HCN, and provide an overview of the reactions available to convert nitriles into other functional groups. Finally, we discuss some of the challenges and opportunities in [11C]HCN labeling such as developing more robust methods to produce [11C]HCN and developing rapid and selective methods to convert nitriles into other functional groups in complex molecules.

Radiosynthesis and autoradiographic evaluation of [11C]NAD-299, a radioligand for visualization of the 5-HT1A receptor

The selective 5-HT1A receptor antagonist NAD-299 ([R]-3-N,N-dicyclobutylamino-8-fluoro-3,4- dihydro-2H-1-benzopyran-5-carboxamide) was labeled with the positron-emitting radionuclide carbon-11. The radioligand was synthesized from NAD-195 ([R]-3-N,N-dicyclobutylamino-8-fluoro-5-trifluoromethylsulfonyl oxy-3,4- dihydro-2H-1-benzopyran) in two radiochemical steps. A palladium-catalyzed reaction of NAD-195 and [11C]cyanide was followed by hydrolysis of the carbon-11-labeled nitrile intermediate with basic hydrogen peroxide. The total radiochemical yield, based on [11C]CO2 and corrected for decay, was 20-40%. The specific radioactivity was 24 GBq/mumol (900 Ci/mmol) at end of synthesis, with a radiochemical purity better than 99% and a total synthesis time of 40-45 min. Autoradiographic examination of [11C]NAD-299 binding in human brain postmortem demonstrated high binding in hippocampus, raphe nuclei, and neocortex. The binding in the hippocampus was higher than in the neocortex. Within the hippocampus, the densest binding was observed in the CA1 region. [11C]NAD-299 binding was inhibited by addition of the 5-HT1A receptor ligands WAY-100635, pindolol, (+/-)-8-OH-DPAT, 5-HT, and buspirone, leaving a low background of nonspecific binding. The results indicate that [11C]NAD-299 binds specifically to 5-HT1A receptors in the human brain in vitro and is a potential radioligand for positron emission tomography (PET) examination of 5-HT1A receptors in vivo.

Selective synthesis of racemic 1-11C-labelled norepinephrine, octopamine, norphenylephrine and phenylethanolamine using [11C]nitromethane

A new and simple method for the selective condensation of no-carrier-added [11C]nitromethane (1) with various substituted (protected) benzaldehydes to [beta-11C]beta-nitrophenethyl alcohols was developed. This method which utilizes tetrabutylammonium fluoride in THF as a catalyst gave a condensation yield of 80-90% and a selectivity of 80-90% for [11C]nitroalcohol vs [11C]nitrostyrene formation within 2 min. Reduction of these [11C]nitroalcohols with Raney nickel in formic acid gave the corresponding [11C]aminoalcohols in a yield of 60-90%. Boron tribromide was used for the cleavage of 4-methoxy and 3,4-(methylenedioxy) phenol protecting groups. After HPLC-purification, racemic 1-11C-labelled norepinephrine (7), phenylethanolamine (4), norphenylephrine (5) and octopamine (6) were prepared in a 12-30% decay corrected total radiochemical yield (20-50% counted from 1) with an overall synthesis time of 40-70 min from end of bombardment (EOB). The radiochemical purity was > 98% and the specific radioactivity 700-1500 Ci/mmol (26-56 GBq/mumol).

[11C]octopamine synthesis using [11C]cyanide: chemical and enzymatic approaches for the [11C]cyanohydrin synthesis

[11C]-p- and m-octopamine hydrochloride were synthesized from [11C]HCN in a two-step sequence. Chemical and enzymatic approaches were used for the formation of the [11C]cyanohydrin intermediates as the key step. Isolated radiochemical yields of 0.7-2.3% at the end-of-synthesis were obtained with an overall preparation time of 40-60 min. The enantiomeric purity of the [11C]-p-octopamine obtained through the enzymatic process was 92% e.e. in the (S)-enantiomer, whereas that of the [11C]-m-octopamine was 42% e.e. in the (R)-enantiomer, as determined by HPLC without any derivatization.