Czech Republic: Radioisotope Carriers These Complexes Are Promising Ligands for Nuclear Medicine

Scientists at Charles University, Prague, synthesized cross-bridged cyclam derivatives bearing two phosphonate, bis(phosphinate), or phosphinate pendant arms and studied them with respect to their application as copper radioisotope carriers in nuclear medicine. Their studies show that the materials are highly promising ligands for nuclear medicine.

Prague/Czech Republic — In a recent study, Czech scientists examined the properties of cross-bridged cyclam with phosphonate and phosphinate pendant arms as radioisotope carriers used in nuclear medicine. The ligands showed high macrocycle basicity and high copper complex stability. The complexation and dissociation kinetics of the copper complexes were studied by ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy. Phosphonate and bis(phosphinate) copper complexes form very quickly, reaching quantitative formation in few seconds. Conversely, the formation of the phosphinate complex is much slower due to the low stability of the reaction intermediate.

All studied complexes are highly kinetically inert. The high thermodynamic stability, fast formation, and extreme kinetic inertness of the complexes indicate that phosphonate and bis(phosphinate) derivatives are promising ligands for nuclear medicine.

Nuclear medicine is a medical specialty involving the application of radioactive substances in the diagnosis and treatment of disease. Nuclear medicine imaging, in a sense, is “radiology done inside out” or “endoradiology” because it records radiation emitting from within the body rather than radiation that is generated by external sources like X-rays. In addition, nuclear medicine scans differ from radiology, as the emphasis is not on imaging anatomy, but on the function.

References: Cross-Bridged Cyclam with Phosphonate and Phosphinate Pendant Arms: Chelators for Copper Radioisotopes with Fast Complexation

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