Studies of some technetium complexes of relevance to nuclear medicine

The primary goal of this research is the development of a more efficacious myocardial imaging agent. The secondary goal of this research is the development of the "preformed chelate" approach to labeling small, biological molecules with technetium. To this end, the research may be divided into three main catagories: (1) the development of technetium labeled fatty acids and amino acids, (2) synthesis of new bidentate phosphine technetium complexes, and (3) clinical trials of some new technetium complexes for heart imaging.; The design of technetium labeled fatty acids and amino acids has been facilitated by the use of the "preformed chelate" technology. This approach utilizes the 99m-Tc-DADS-TFP ester complex as a starting point for the synthesis, followed by derivatization with an amino containing substrate which contains a biological moiety. The complexes were tested in rats for viability as myocardial imaging agents.; The Schiff base-monodentate and bidentate phosphine complexes of 99m-Tc have been shown to localize in normal myocardium. These first generation complexes have been modified with ether substituents to increase heart uptake and enhance clearance from non-target tissues. The synthesis, characterization and animal screening are described herein and the complexes were tested in normal human volunteers in Italy. The complex with the most promising imaging qualities (03) was further evaluated in patient trials.