Radiosynthesis of a 18F-labeled 2,3-diarylsubstituted indole via McMurry coupling for functional characterization of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) in vitro and in vivo

The radiosynthesis of a 2,3-diarylsubstituted indole via McMurry cyclization as potential PET probe for functional characterization of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) is described. The radiotracer was evaluated in vitro using COX-2 expressing tumor cell lines and in vivo by dynamic small animal PET studies on HT-29 tumor-bearing mice.