Impact of structural alterations on the radiopharmacological profile of 18F-labeled pyrimidines as cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) imaging agents

Among all tested pyrimidine-based 18F-labeled COX-2 inhibitors, lead compound [18F]1a remains the most suitable radiotracer for assessing COX-2 expression in vivo. Radiotracer [18F]3a showed significantly improved first pass pulmonary passage in comparison to radiotracer [18F]1a and might represents a promising lead compound for the development of radiotracers for PET imaging of COX-2 in neuroinflammation.