Stability and in vivo behavior of Rh[16aneS4-diol]211At complex: A potential precursor for astatine radiopharmaceuticals

IntroductionThe heavy halogen 211At is of great interest for targeted radiotherapy because it decays by the emission of short-range, high-energy α-particles. However, many astatine compounds that have been synthesized are unstable in vivo, providing motivation for seeking other 211At labeling strategies. One relatively unexplored approach is to utilize prosthetic groups based on astatinated rhodium (III) complex stabilized with a tetrathioether macrocyclic ligand – Rh[16aneS4-diol]211At. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the in vitro and in vivo stability of this complex in comparison to its iodine analog – Rh[16aneS4-diol]131I.MethodsRh[16aneS4-diol]211At and Rh[16aneS4-diol]131I complexes were synthesized and purified by HPLC. The stability of both complexes was evaluated in vitro by incubation in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) and human serum at different temperatures. The in vivo behavior of the two radiohalogenated complexes was assessed by a paired-label biodistribution study in normal Balb/c mice.ResultsBoth complexes were synthesized in high yield and purity. Almost no degradation was observed for Rh[16aneS4-diol]131I in PBS over a 72 h incubation. The astatinated analog exhibited good stability in PBS over 14 h. A slow decline in the percentage of intact complex was observed for both tracers in human serum. In the biodistribution study, retention of 211At in most tissues was higher than that of 131I at all time points, especially in spleen and lungs. Renal clearance of Rh[16aneS4-diol]211At and Rh[16aneS4-diol]131I predominated, with 84.1 ± 2.3% and 94.6 ± 0.9% of injected dose excreted via the urine at 4 h.ConclusionsThe Rh[16aneS4-diol]211At complex might be useful for constructing prosthetic groups for the astatination of biomolecules and further studies are planned to evaluate this possibility.