The purpose of this study was to determine the cellular distribution and degradation in rat liver following intravenous injection of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles used for magnetic resonance imaging (NC100150 Injection). Relaxometric and spectrophotometric methods were used to determine the concentration of the iron oxide nanoparticles and their degradation products in isolated rat liver parenchymal, endothelial and Kupffer cell fractions. An isolated cell phantom was also constructed to quantify the effect of the degradation products on the loss of MR signal in terms of decreased transverse relaxation times, T2*. The results of this study show that iron oxide nanoparticles found in the NC100150 Injection were taken up and distributed equally in both liver endothelial and Kupffer cells following a single 5 mg Fe/kg body wt. bolus injection in rats. Whereas endothelial and Kupffer cells exhibited similar rates of uptake and degradation, liver parenchymal cells did not take up the NC100150 Injection iron oxide particles. Light-microscopy methods did, however, indicate an increased iron load, presumably as ferritin/hemosiderin, within the hepatocytes 24 h post injection. The study also confirmed that compartmentalisation of ferritin/hemosiderin may cause a significant decrease in the MRI signal intensity of the liver. In conclusion, the combined results of this study imply that the prolonged presence of breakdown product in the liver may cause a prolonged imaging effect (in terms of signal loss) for a time period that significantly exceeds the half-life of NC100150 Injection iron oxide nanoparticles in liver.

The labeling of biomolecules for positron emission tomography (PET) with no-carrier-added fluorine-18 is almost exclusively accomplished using prosthetic groups in a two step procedure. The inherent complexity of the process renders full automation a challenge and leads to protracted synthesis times. Here we describe a new (18)F-labeled prosthetic group based on nicotinic acid tetrafluorophenyl ester. Reaction of [(18)F]fluoride at 40 degrees C with the trimethylammonium precursor afforded 6-[(18)F]fluoronicotinic acid tetrafluorophenyl ester ([(18)F]F-Py-TFP) directly in 60-70% yield. [(18)F]F-Py-TFP was conveniently purified by Sep-Pak cartridge prior to incubation with a peptide containing the RGD sequence. The desired conjugate was formed rapidly and in good yields. An in vitro receptor-binding assay for the integrin alpha(v)beta(3) was established to explore competition with peptide and peptidomimetic prepared from F-Py-TFP with (125)I-echistatin. The nonradioactive conjugates were found to possess high binding affinities with calculated K(i) values in the low nanomolar range.

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Achieving high-yielding, robust, and reproducible chemistry is a prerequisite for the (18)F-labeling of peptides for quantitative receptor imaging using positron emission tomography (PET). In this study, we extend the toolbox of oxime chemistry to include the novel prosthetic groups [(18)F]-(2-{2-[2-(2-fluoroethoxy)ethoxy]ethoxy}ethoxy)acetaldehyde, [(18)F]5, and [(18)F]-4-(3-fluoropropoxy)benzaldehyde, [(18)F]9, in addition to the widely used 4-[(18)F]fluorobenzaldehyde, [(18)F]12. The three (18)F-aldehydes were conjugated to the same aminooxy-bearing RGD peptide and the effect of the prosthetic group on biodistribution and tumor uptake studied in mice. The peptide conjugate [(18)F]7 was found to possess superior in vivo pharmacokinetics with higher tumor to blood, tumor to liver, tumor to muscle, and tumor to lung ratios than either [(18)F]10 or [(18)F]13. The radioactivity from the [(18)F]7 conjugate excreted more extensively through the kidney route with 79%id passing through the urine and bladder at the 2 h time point compared to around 55%id for the more hydrophobic conjugates [(18)F]10 and [(18)F]13. The chemical nature of a prosthetic group can be employed to tailor the overall biodistribution profile of the radiotracer. In this example, the hydrophilic nature of the ethylene glycol containing prosthetic group [(18)F]5 clearly influences the overall excretion pattern for the RGD peptide conjugate.

The present study demonstrates the feasibility of in vivo molecular imaging of AT receptors in the remodeling myocardium. Noninvasive imaging studies aimed at AT receptor expression could play a role in identification of subjects likely to develop heart failure. In addition, such a strategy could allow for optimization of anti-angiotensin therapy in patients after MI.