Enantioselective synthesis of 2-[18F]fluoro-L-tyrosine by catalytic phase-transfer alkylation

Metabolism of no-carrier-added 2-[18F]fluoro-L-tyrosine in rats

Background

Several fluorine-18 labelled fluoroamino acids have been evaluated as tracers for the quantitative assessment of cerebral protein synthesis in vivo by positron emission tomography (PET). Among these, 2-[¹⁸F]fluoro-L-tyrosine (2-[¹⁸F]Tyr) has been studied in mice at a low specific activity. Its incorporation into proteins is fast and metabolism via other pathways is limited. The present in vivo study was carried out in normal awake rats using no-carrier-added 2-[¹⁸F]Tyr. Under normal physiological conditions, we have studied the incorporation into proteins and the metabolism of the tracer in different brain areas.

Methods

No-carrier-added 2-[¹⁸F]Tyr was administered to awake rats equipped with chronic arterial and venous catheters. The time course of the plasma activity was studied by arterial blood sampling. The biodistribution of the activity in the main organs was studied at the end of the experiment. The distribution of radioactive species in plasma and brain regions was studied by acidic precipitation of the proteins and HPLC analysis of the supernatant.

Results

The absolute uptake of radioactivity in brain regions was homogenous. In awake rats, no-carrier-added 2-[¹⁸F]Tyr exhibits a fast and almost quantitative incorporation into the proteins fractions of cerebellum and cortex. In striatum, this incorporation into proteins and the unchanged fraction of the tracer detected by HPLC could be lower than in other brain regions.

Conclusion

This study confirms the potential of 2-[¹⁸F]fluoro-L-tyrosine as a tracer for the assessment of the rate of protein synthesis by positron emission tomography. The observed metabolism suggests a need for a correction for the appearance of metabolites, at least in plasma.

PET imaging for differentiating recurrent brain tumor from radiation necrosis

The exact incidence of true radiation necrosis is largely unknown. It is probably much less frequent than indicated by MR or CT findings. Differentiating radiation necrosis from recurrent tumor is a diagnostic challenge, however, and has important implications for the patient's management. Even though the first results were published 20 years ago, the total number of case studies using FDG-PET in this indication remains limited. Several reports are also hampered by methodologic limitations. The technique has been largely criticized, notably in articles that themselves were not completely free of methodological flaws. Overall however, FDG-PET seems to be a valuable clinical tool. As a general rule, suspicious lesions on MR imaging that show increased FDG uptake (ie, uptake equal to or great than that in normal cortex) are likely to represent tumor recurrence. Sensitivity is an issue, especially but not exclusively with low-grade gliomas. Although false-positive results may occur, specificity is usually high in routine clinical practice. Coregistration with MR imaging surely improves the diagnostic performances of FDG-PET because it helps delineate the suspicious area. Another important aspect is the prognostic value of FDG uptake, which is now well established. It seems clear that only the combination of FDG with a radiolabeled amino acid analogue (MET or a more recent fluorinated compound) can provide a comprehensive characterization of suspected brain tumor recurrence.

Catalytic enantioselective synthesis of 18F-fluorinated α-amino acids under phase-transfer conditions using (s)-NOBIN

We describe a new method for the asymmetric synthesis of [(18)F]fluorinated aromatic alpha-amino acids (FAA) under phase transfer conditions using achiral glycine derivative NiPBPGly and (S)-NOBIN as a novel substrate/catalyst pair. The key alkylation step proceeds under mild conditions. Substituted [(18)F]fluorobenzylbromides were prepared using nucleophilic [(18)F]fluoride and were used as alkylation agents. Two important FAA, 2-[(18)F]fluoro-L-tyrosine (2-FTYR) and 6-[(18)F]fluoro-L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (6-FDOPA), were synthesized with an ee of 92 and 96%, respectively. The total synthesis time was 110-120 min and radiochemical yields (d.c.) were 25+/-6% for 2-FTYR and 16+/-5% for 6-FDOPA.