Background The β-amyloid radiotracer [ 11 C] PiB is extensively used for the Positron Emission Tomography (PET) diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Disease and related dementias. For clinical use, [ 11 C] PiB is produced using the 11 C-methylation method ([ 11 C] Methyl iodide or [ 11 C] methyl triflate as 11 C-methylation agents), which represents the most employed 11 C-labelling strategy for the synthesis of 11 C-radiopharmaceuticals. Recently, the use of direct [ 11 C]CO 2 fixation for the syntheses of 11 C-tracers has gained interest in the radiochemical community due to its importance in terms of radiochemical versatility and for permitting the direct employment of the cyclotron-produced precursor [ 11 C]CO 2 . This paper presents an optimised alternative one-pot methodology of [ 11 C]CO 2 fixation-reduction for the rapid synthesis of [ 11 C] PiB using an automated commercial platform and its quality control. Results [ 11 C] PiB was obtained from a (25.9 ± 13.2)% (Average ± Variation Coefficient, n = 3) (end of synthesis, decay corrected) radiochemical yield from trapped [ 11 C]CO 2 after 1 min of labelling time using PhSiH 3 / TBAF as the fixation-reduction system in Diglyme at 150 °C. The radiochemical purity was higher than 95% in all cases, and the molar activity was (61.4 ± 1.6) GBq/μmol. The radiochemical yield and activity (EOS) of formulated [ 11 C] PiB from cyclotron-produced [ 11 C]CO 2 was (14.8 ± 12.1)%, decay corrected) and 9.88 GBq (± 6.0%), respectively. These are higher values compared to that of the 11 C-methylation method with [ 11 C]CH 3 OTf (~ 8.3%). Conclusions The viability of the system PhSiH 3 / TBAF to efficiently promote the radiosynthesis of [ 11 C] PiB via direct [ 11 C]CO 2 fixation-reduction has been demonstrated. [ 11 C] PiB was obtained through a fully automated radiosynthesis with a satisfactory yield, purity and molar activity. According to the results, the one-pot methodology employed could reliably yield sufficiently high tracer amounts for preclinical and clinical use. Electronic supplementary material The online versio...

Positron emission tomography (PET) imaging of misfolded protein aggregates that form in neurodegenerative processes of the brain is key to providing a robust marker for improved diagnosis and evaluation of treatments. We report the development of advanced radiotracer candidates based on the sulfoxide scaffold found in proton pump inhibitors (lansoprazole, prevacid) with inherent affinity to neurofibrillary tangles in Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders (e.g., dementia with Lewy bodies and the frontotemporal degeneration syndrome). First-in-man results obtained with [18F]lansoprazole and N-methyl-[18F]lansoprazole were used to guide the design of a set of 24 novel molecules with suitable properties for neuroimaging with PET. Compounds were synthesized and characterized pharmacologically, and the binding affinity of the compounds to synthetic human tau-441 fibrils was determined. Selectivity of binding was assessed using α-synuclein and β-amyloid fibrils to address the key misfolded proteins of relevance in dementia. To complete the pharmacokinetic profiling in vitro, plasma protein binding and lipophilicity were investigated. Highly potent and selective new radiotracer candidates were identified for further study.

Abstract. Molecular imaging is usually based on the recognition by the radiopharmaceuticals of specific sites which are present in limited number or density in the cells or biological tissues. Thus is of high importance to label the radiopharmaceuticals with high specific activity to be able to achieve a high target to non target ratio. The presence of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) from the air containing 98,88% of 12 C and 1,12% 13 C compete with 11 CO 2 produced at the cyclotron. In order to minimize the presence of these isotopes along the process of irradiation, transferring and synthesis of radiopharmaceuticals labelled with 11 C, we applied this method: previous to the irradiation the target was 3-4 times flushed with He (5.7) as a cold cleaning, followed by a similar conditioning of the line, from the target up to the module, and finally a hot cleaning in order to desorb 12 CO 2 and 13 CO 2 , this was performed by irradiation during 1 min at 5 uA (3 times). In addition, with the aim of improving quality of gases in the target and in the modules, water traps (Agilent) were incorporated in the inlet lines of the target and modules. Target conditioning process (cold and hot flushings) as well as line cleaning, allowing the desorption of unlabelled CO 2 , together with the increasing of gas purity in the irradiation and in the synthesis, were critical parameters that enable to achieve 11 C-radiopharamaceuticals with high specific activity, mainly in the case of 11 C-PIB.

IntroductionThe use of anti-retroviral therapy (ART) has dramatically reduced HIV-1 associated morbidity and mortality. However, HIV-1 infected individuals have increased rates of morbidity and mortality compared to the non-HIV-1 infected population and this appears to be related to end-organ diseases collectively referred to as Serious Non-AIDS Events (SNAEs). Circulating miRNAs are reported as promising biomarkers for a number of human disease conditions including those that constitute SNAEs. Our study sought to investigate the potential of selected miRNAs in predicting mortality in HIV-1 infected ART treated individuals.Materials and MethodsA set of miRNAs was chosen based on published associations with human disease conditions that constitute SNAEs. This case: control study compared 126 cases (individuals who died whilst on therapy), and 247 matched controls (individuals who remained alive). Cases and controls were ART treated participants of two pivotal HIV-1 trials. The relative abundance of each miRNA in serum was measured, by RTqPCR. Associations with mortality (all-cause, cardiovascular and malignancy) were assessed by logistic regression analysis. Correlations between miRNAs and CD4+ T cell count, hs-CRP, IL-6 and D-dimer were also assessed.ResultsNone of the selected miRNAs was associated with all-cause, cardiovascular or malignancy mortality. The levels of three miRNAs (miRs -21, -122 and -200a) correlated with IL-6 while miR-21 also correlated with D-dimer. Additionally, the abundance of miRs -31, -150 and -223, correlated with baseline CD4+ T cell count while the same three miRNAs plus miR-145 correlated with nadir CD4+ T cell count.DiscussionNo associations with mortality were found with any circulating miRNA studied. These results cast doubt onto the effectiveness of circulating miRNA as early predictors of mortality or the major underlying diseases that contribute to mortality in participants treated for HIV-1 infection.

BackgroundOverexpression of prostatic membrane antigen (PSMA) is associated with the progression and prognosis of prostate cancer. There are numerous studies using this peptide with the 68Ga radionuclide. Previous methods to synthetize 18F–labeled PSMA ligands with complexes [18F]AlF2+ have been achieved. However, these reported syntheses were performed manually, using small volumes. Therefore it is only possible to have the radiopharmaceutical on a small scale, for use in preclinical studies. 18F–labelled tracers allow higher doses increasing the number of examined patients. In addition, late images can be acquired in the case of uptake in lymph nodes, to discard inflammation. It is important to transfer the manual synthesis to an automatic module, producing a batch of the radiopharmaceutical with high activity in a safe and effective way. The aim of this work was to optimize the labeling of [18F]AlF-[GLU-UREA-LYS(AHX)-HBED-CC] in a Tracerlab FXFN® (GE) platform.ResultsThe labeling up to the reactor corroborates the formation of the complex [18F]AlF-PSMA. After purification by HPLC, the radiopharmaceutical was achieved with a radiochemical purity higher than 90%. The quality control of the final product fulfilled all the requirements in agreement with USP, such as radiochemical purity (greater than 90%) and residual solvents. [18F]AlF-PSMA was obtained with a yield of 18 ± 3% (n = 7), not decay corrected (NCD) starting off from 500 to 2000 mCi the 18F and with a radiochemical purity of 95 ± 3% (n = 7). The product verified stability in the final formulation vial during 4 hs and in human plasma up to 1 h.ConclusionThe proposed method allowed the production of [18F]AlF-PSMA with suitable radiochemical purity in a commercial platform. High activities were achieved, with a simple and robust methodology appropriate for clinical purposes.

(68)Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT is a clinically useful imaging technique for the localization of primary tumors in patients with neuroendocrine metastatic carcinoma of unknown origin with the potential of having a significant impact in patient management and therapy planning.

Background: The red fluorescent dye Sulforhodamine 101 (SR101) has been used in neuroscience research as a useful tool for staining of astrocytes, since it has been reported as a marker of astroglia in the neocortex of rodents in vivo. The aim of this work is to label SR101 with positron emission radionuclides, in order to provide a radiotracer to study its biological behavior. This is the first attempt to label SR101 by [18F], using a chem-ical derivatization via a sulfonamide-linker and a commercially available platform.Methods: The synthesis of SR101 N-(3-Bromopropyl) sulfonamide and SR101 N-(3-Fluoropropyl) sulfonamide (2B-SRF101) was carried out. The radiosynthesis of SR101 N-(3-[18F]Fluoropropyl) sulfonamide ([18F]2B-SRF101) was performed in a TRACERlab® FX-FN. Different labeling conditions were tested. Three pilot batches were produced and quality control was performed. Lipophilicity, plasma protein binding and radiochemical sta-bility of [18F]2B-SRF101 in final formulation and in plasma were determined.Results: SR101 N-(3-Bromopropyl) sulfonamide was synthetized as a precursor for radio-labeling with [18F]. 2B-SRF101 was prepared for analytical purpose. [18F]2B-SRF101 was obtained with radiochemical purity of (97.0 ± 0.6%). The yield of the whole synthesis was (11.9 ± 1.7%), non-decay corrected. [18F]2B-SRF101 was found to be stable in final for-mulation and in plasma. The octanol-water partition coefficient was (Log POCT = 1.88 ± 0.14). The product showed a high percentage of plasma protein binding.Conclusions: The derivatization of SR101 via sulfonamide-linker and the first radiosyn-thesis of [18F]2B-SRF101 were performed. It was obtained in accordance with quality con-trol specifications. In vitro stability studies verified that [18F]2B-SRF101 was suitable for preclinical evaluations.

Background: Radiosynovectomy is a therapy used to relieve pain and inflammation from rheumatoid arthritis and related diseases. In this study three 188 Re particulate compounds were characterized according to their physico-chemical properties and their biological behavior in rabbits. The results were compared in order to establish which was the radiopharmaceutical that better fits the requirements of this kind of radiotherapy.