Hydroxypyridinone Chelators: From Iron Scavenging to Radiopharmaceuticals for PET Imaging with Gallium-68

Derivatives of 3,4-hydroxypyridinones have been extensively studied for in vivo Fe(3+) sequestration. Deferiprone, a 1,2-dimethyl-3,4-hydroxypyridinone, is now routinely used for clinical treatment of iron overload disease. Hexadentate tris(3,4-hydroxypyridinone) ligands (THP) complex Fe(3+) at very low iron concentrations, and their high affinities for oxophilic trivalent metal ions have led to their development for new applications as bifunctional chelators for the positron emitting radiometal, (68)Ga(3+), which is clinically used for molecular imaging in positron emission tomography (PET). THP-peptide bioconjugates rapidly and quantitatively complex (68)Ga(3+) at ambient temperature, neutral pH and micromolar concentrations of ligand, making them amenable to kit-based radiosynthesis of (68)Ga PET radiopharmaceuticals. (68)Ga-labelled THP-peptides accumulate at target tissue in vivo, and are excreted largely via a renal pathway, providing high quality PET images.