Due to expanding applications of positron emission tomography (PET) there is a demand for developing new techniques to introduce fluorine-18 (t 1/2 = 109.8 min). Considering that most novel PET tracers are sensitive biomolecules and that direct introduction of fluorine-18 often needs harsh conditions, the insertion of 18F in those molecules poses an exceeding challenge. Two major challenges during 18F-labeling are a regioselective introduction and a fast and high yielding way under mild conditions. Furthermore, attention has to be paid to functionalities, which are usually present in complex structures of the target molecule. The Cu-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC) and several copper-free click reactions represent such methods for radiolabeling of sensitive molecules under the above-mentioned criteria. This minireview will provide a quick overview about the development of novel 18F-labeled prosthetic groups for click cycloadditions and will summarize recent trends in copper-catalyzed and copper-free click 18F-cycloadditions.

Synthetic access to multiple surface decorations are a bottleneck in the development of liposomes for receptor mediated targeting. This opens a complex multiparameter space, exploration of which is severely limited in terms of sample numbers and turnaround times. Here, we unlock this technological barrier by a combination of a milligram-scale liposome formulation using dual centrifugation and orthogonal click chemistry on the liposomal surface. Application of these techniques to conceptually new amphiphilic compounds, which feature norbornene and alkyne groups at the apex of sterically stabilizing, hyperbranched polyglycerol moieties, revealed a particular influence of the membrane anchor of functional amphiphiles. Folic acid residues clicked to cholesterol-based amphiphiles were inefficient in folate-mediated cell targeting, while dialkyl-anchored amphiphiles remained stable in the liposomal membrane and imparted efficient targeting properties. These findings are of specific importance considering the popularity of cholesterol as a lipophilic anchor.

The new prosthetic group 18F-TEG-DBCO (dibenzocyclooctyne) can be prepared within a total reaction time of 60 min including purification with an overall yield (n.d.c.) of 34 ± 5%. Copper-free click cycloadditions with various biomolecule-azides resulted in very high RCYs under mild conditions.

Within the last decade, several folate-based radiopharmaceuticals for Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) and Positron Emission Tomography (PET) have been evaluated; however, there is still a lack of suitable 18F-folates for clinical PET imaging. Herein, we report the synthesis and evaluation of two novel 18F-folates employing strain-promoted and copper-catalyzed click chemistry. Furthermore, the influence of both click-methods on lipophilicity and pharmacokinetics of the 18F-folates was investigated. 18F-Ala-folate and 18F-DBCO-folate were both stable in human serum albumin. In vitro studies proved their high affinity to the folate receptor (FR). The lipophilic character of the strain-promoted clicked 18F-DBCO-folate (logD = 0.6) contributed to a higher non-specific binding in cell internalization studies. In the following in vivo PET imaging studies, FR-positive tumors could not be visualized in a maximum intensity projection images. Compared with 18F-DBCO-folate, 18F-Ala-folate (logD = −1.4), synthesized by the copper-catalyzed click reaction, exhibited reduced lipophilicity, and as a result an improved in vivo performance and a clear-cut visualization of FR-positive tumors. In view of high radiochemical yield, radiochemical purity and favorable pharmacokinetics, 18F-Ala-folate is expected to be a promising candidate for FR-PET imaging.