Radiosynthesis of 2-[6-chloro-2-(4-iodophenyl)imidazo [1,2-a]pyridin-3-yl]-N-ethyl-N-[11C]methyl-acetamide, [11C]CLINME, a novel radioligand for imaging the peripheral benzodiazepine receptors with PET

Recently, a new 2-(iodophenyl)imidazo[1,2-a]pyridineacetamide series has been developed as iodine-123-labelled radioligands for imaging the peripheral benzodiazepine receptors using single photon emission tomography. Within this series, 2-[6-chloro-2-(4-iodophenyl)-imidazo[1,2-alpyridin-3-yl]-N-ethyl-N-methyl-acetamide (CLINME) was considered as an appropriate candidate for positron emission tomography imaging and was isotopically labelled with carbon-11 (T-1/2: 20.38 min) at the methylacetamide side chain from the corresponding nor-analogue using [C-11]methyl iodide and the following experimental conditions: (1) trapping at -10 degrees C of [C-11]methyl iodide in a 1/2 (v:v) mixture of DMSO/DMF (300 mu l) containing 0.7-1.0 mg of the precursor for labelling and 3-5 mg of powdered potassium hydroxide (excess); (2) heating the reaction mixture at 110 degrees C for 3 min under a nitrogen stream; (3) diluting the residue with 0.6 ml of the HPLC mobile phase; and (4) purification using semi-preparative HPLC (Zorbax(R) SB18, Hewlett Packard, 250 x 9.4 mm). Typically, starting from a 1.5Ci (55.5 GBq) [C-11]CO2 production batch, 120-150 mCi (4.44-5.55 GBq) of [C-11]CLINME were obtained (16-23% decay-corrected radiochemical yield, n = 12) within a total synthesis time of 24-27 min (Sep-pak(R)Plus-based formulation included). Specific radio-activities ranged from 0.9 to 2.7 Ci/mu mol (33.3-99.9 GBq/mu mol) at the end of radiosynthesis. Copyright (C) 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.