A bifunctional ligand that is capable of forming Re and 99mTc complexes as complementary fluorescent and radioactive probes was developed. The tridentate bis(quinoline) amine ligand, which is referred to as the SAACQ system, was prepared in a single step from Fmoc protected lysine in high yield. Reaction of the SAACQ ligand with [Re(CO)3Br3]2- resulted in the formation of the SAACQ-(Re(CO)3)+complex which exhibits favorable fluorescence properties including a long lifetime and a large Stoke's shift. Because the SAACQ ligand is derived from an amino acid, it can readily be linked to or incorporated within peptides as a means of targeting the probe to specific receptors. To demonstrate this feature, the SAACQ ligand and the SAACQ-Re complex were incorporated into fMLFG, a peptide that binds to the formyl peptide receptor (FPR). Uptake of the fMLF[(SAACQ-Re(CO)3)+]G conjugate into human leukocytes in vitro was visualized by fluorescence microscopy, and the observed distribution of the peptide was similar to that of a well-established fluorescent FPR probe. The corresponding Tc complex, fMLF[(SAACQ-99mTc(CO)3)+]G, was prepared in excellent yield from [99mTc(CO)3(OH2)3]+, which affords the opportunity to correlate the results of the microscopy experiments with in vivo radioimaging studies because the probes are isostructural.

In recent years, a number of new methods have been reported that make use of immobilized enzymes either on microarrays or in bioaffinity columns for high-throughput screening of compound libraries. A key question that arises in such methods is whether immobilization may alter the intrinsic catalytic and inhibition constants of the enzyme. Herein, we examine how immobilization within sol-gel-derived materials affects the catalytic constant (kcat), Michaelis constant (KM), and inhibition constant (KI) of the clinically relevant enzymes Factor Xa, dihydrofolate reductase, cyclooxygenase-2, and gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase. These enzymes were encapsulated into sol-gel-derived glasses produced from either tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) or the newly developed silica precursor diglyceryl silane (DGS). It was found that the catalytic efficiency and long-term stability of all enzymes were improved upon entrapment into DGS-derived materials relative to entrapment in TEOS-based glasses, likely owing to the liberation of the biocompatible reagent glycerol from DGS. The KM values of enzymes entrapped in DGS-derived materials were typically higher than those in solution, whereas upon entrapment, kcat values were generally lowered by a factor of 1.5-7 relative to the value in solution, indicating that substrate turnover was limited by partitioning effects or diffusion through the silica matrix. Nonetheless, the apparent KI value for the entrapped enzyme was in most cases within error of the value in solution, and even in the worst case, the values differed by no more than a factor of 3. The implications of these findings for high-throughput screening are discussed.

We describe the coupling of capillary-scale monolithic enzyme reactor columns directly to a tandem mass spectrometer for screening of enzyme inhibitors. A two-channel nanoLC system is used to continuously infuse substrate or substrate/inhibitor mixtures through the column, allowing continuous variation of inhibitor concentration by simply altering the ratio of flow from the two pumps. In the absence of inhibitor, infusion of substrate leads to formation of product, and both substrate and product ions can be simultaneously monitored in a quantitative manner by MS/MS. The presence of inhibitor leads to a decrease in product and an increase in substrate concentration in the column eluent. Knowing the product/substrate ratio and the total analyte concentration (P + S), the concentration of product eluting, and hence the relative enzyme activity, can be determined. Both IC50 and KI values can then be obtained by direct MS detection of the effect of inhibitors on relative activity. Inhibitor screening is demonstrated using reusable, sol-gel derived, monolithic capillary columns containing adenosine deaminase, directly interfaced to ESI-MS/MS. On-column enzyme activity was assessed by monitoring inosine and adenosine elution. It is shown that the method can be used for automated screening of the effects of compound mixtures on ADA activity and to determine the KI value of the known inhibitor, erythro-9-(2-hydroxy-3-nonyl)adenine, even when the compound is present within a mixture.

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Bilayer lipid membranes (BLMs) have been widely examined as sensing elements for a variety of analytes, in both the vapor and solution phases, using electrochemical, acoustic wave, and fluorescence methods. For successful development of stable sensing devices, it is necessary to be able to immobilize the BLMs in a manner that allows long-term retention of the membrane structure and still permits large-scale structural reorganizations such as phase transitions. In this work, small unilamellar liposomes were formed from either 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DPPC) or l-a-phosphatidylcholine (egg PC) and were doped with 1−5 mol % of the fluorescent probes diphenylhexatriene (DPH) or nitrobenzoxadiazole-labeled dipalmitoylphosphatidylethanolamine (NBD-PE). The liposomes were entrapped in a series of different sol−gel derived silicate materials and the stability and phase-transition behavior of the liposomes was characterized. DPPC was observed to undergo reversible phase transitions when entrapped in glasses derived from either sodium silicate or a diglyceryl silane precursor; however, liposomes did not undergo phase transitions when entrapped in tetraethyl orthosilicate derived glasses, indicating that they had likely ruptured during the encapsulation process. As a practical demonstration of the use of the immobilized membranes for sensing applications, we have examined the use of pH-induced phase transitions as a means of generating a fluorescence signal that is based on changes in self-quenching of NBD-PE within liposomes composed of DPPC and dipalmitoylphosphatidic acid (DPPA). The results show that such pH-induced phase transitions occur for the entrapped vesicles and that the fluorescence responses follow the pH dependence of DPPA.

A series of mono and diaryl rhenium(I)-carborane derivatives were prepared using microwave heating and screened for their affinity for two isoforms of the estrogen receptor (ER). The rhenacarborane derivative [(RR'C 2B9H9)Re(CO)3](-) (R = p-PhOH, R' = H), which was generated by taking advantage of a recently discovered cage isomerization process, and the neutral nitrosated analogue [(RR'C2B9H9)Re(CO)2(NO)] (R = p-PhOH, R' = H) showed the highest affinities of the compounds screened. As a result, the (99m)Tc analogue of one of the leads was produced in high yield (84%) and specific activity in a manner that is suitable for routine production in support of future preclinical and molecular imaging studies.

For over thirty years, instant labeling kits which involve no purification steps have been the only method used to prepare (99m)Tc radiopharmaceuticals for clinical studies. To address the limitations imposed by instant kits, which is hindering the development of molecularly targeted Tc- and Re-based imaging and therapy agents, a new strategy for the rapid multistep synthesis and purification of organometallic technetium-based molecular probes and corresponding rhenium-based therapeutic analogues was developed. Beginning with MO4(-) (M = (99m)Tc, (186/188)Re), the carbonyl precursor [M(CO)3(H2O)3](+) was synthesized in 3 min in quantitative yield in a microwave reactor. A dipicolyl ligand was added and the chelate complex was formed in high yield in 2 min using microwave heating at 150 degrees C. This was followed by a new purification strategy to remove unlabeled ligand which entailed using a copper resin/C18 solid phase extraction protocol giving the desired product in greater than 78% decay corrected yield (dcy). Conversion to the corresponding succinimidyl active ester was achieved following a 5 min microwave irradiation at 120 degrees C and C18 solid phase extraction purification in 60% dcy. A series of amides were prepared subsequently by microwave heating at 120 degrees C for 5 min producing the desired targets in greater than 86% dcy. The reported method represents a move away from traditional instant kits toward more versatile platform synthesis and purification technologies that are better suited for producing modern molecular imaging and therapy agents.

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