A Compact and Synthetically Accessible Fluorine-18 Labelled Cyclooctyne Prosthetic Group for Labelling of Biomolecules by Copper-Free Click Chemistry.

A new fluorine-containing azadibenzocyclooctyne (ADIBO-F) was designed using a synthetically accessible pathway. The fluorine-18 prosthetic group was prepared from its toluenesulfonate precursor and isolated in 21-35 % radiochemical yield in 30 minutes of synthetic time. ADIBO-F has been incorporated into azide-functionalized, cancer-targeting peptides through a strain-promoted alkyne-azide cycloaddition with high radiochemical yields and purities. The final products are novel peptide-based positron emission tomography (PET) imaging agents that possess high affinities for their targets, growth hormone secretagogue receptor 1a (GHSR-1a) and gastrin-releasing peptide receptor (GRPR), with IC50 values of 9.7 and 0.50 nm, respectively. This is a new and rapid labelling option for the incorporation of fluorine-18 into biomolecules for PET imaging.