Seven new nitrophenol derivatives were synthesized; their 99m Tc complexes (N 2 OS chelates), which are possible hypoxia tumor imaging agents, were prepared by the reaction with [ 99m Tc]NaTcO 4 in the presence of SnCl 2 at pH 10. The in vitro biostabilty of the complexes was evaluated. The purity and stability (in human and rat serum) of the complexes were evaluated by chromatographic methods (TLC, HPLC). The most stable (for more than 6 h) is the complex of 99m Tc with 3-[3`-N-(2``-hydroxy-5``-nitrobenzylamino)-2`-hydroxypropyl]-1-methylthiourea. Many radiolabeled nitroimidazole derivatives have been developed for noninvasive imaging of hypoxic tissues. The most important compounds contain 123 I [1, 2], 18 F [3, 4], and 82 Br [5]. Linder et al. have also reported preparation of 99m Tc complexes of nitroimidazole-BATO derivatives [6, 7]. Di Rocco et al.showed that these complexes bind to ischemic tissue of cerebral infarction in rats and in hypoxic myocardium in rabbits [8]. A nitrophenol ligand, N, N-bis(2-hydroxy-5-nitrobenzyl)-1,3-diamino-2-hydroxypropane (HNBAHP), was reported previously as possible agent for noninvasive imaging of hypoxic cells. This ligand combines the radiosensitizer properties of aromatic nitro compounds [9, 10] and the stability of technetium aminophenol complexes [11,12]. Preliminary biodistribution (imaging) data for HNBAHP after intravenous administration demonstrated that most of radioactivity remained in the abdominal area with negligible radioactivity in the tumor within the first 20 h. Such characteristics restrict the applicability of these complexes in nuclear medicine.In order to improve the biodistribution and pharmacokinetics of Tc complexes of HNBAHP, we synthesized a series of asymmetric nitrophenol-containing ligands II!VII (see scheme below), prepared their 99m Tc complexes, and evaluated their stability.
EXPERIMENTALThe chemicals were purchased from Aldrich. 4-Dimethylaminophenyl isothiocyanate (97%) was pur-ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ 1 This article was submitted by the authors in English. chased from Lancaster, Caledon Laboratories (Canada). All chemicals were recrystallized before use. The 1 H and 13 C NMR spectra were recorded on a Bruker AM-300 spectrometer using TMS as internal reference. The IR spectra (KBr pellets) were recorded over the range 4000 3 400 cm !1 with a Nicolet DX FTIR spectrophotometer. The FAB mass spectra were recorded with an AEI-MS-12 mass spectrometer. Thin-layer chromatography (TLC) of nonradioactive products was performed on TLC aluminum sheets, 20 0 20 cm, silica gel 60 F254, (E-Merck, EM Science, Gibbstown, USA). The analytical HPLC to determine the specific activity was performed with a Shimadzu LC-10AT device equipped with two detector systems: a flow scintillation analyzer (Packard-150 TR) and a UV-visible detector (Shimadzu). A Si 2 9 ; ; ; O 2 N OH Br + 9 ; =9 9 NH 2 OH NH 2 2 9 ; ; ; 9 ; =9 9 O 2 N OH NH 2 NH 76