Two different pathways for the introduction of an acetyl group at N(epsilon ) in a N(alpha), N(delta), and -COO protected histidine to afford N(epsilon)-(CH(2)COOH)-histidine derivative 7 b are presented. The purpose of this study is the coupling of 7 b to amino groups in bioactive molecules such as peptides. After full deprotection of such a bioconjugate, histidine provides three coordination sites which efficiently coordinate to [(99m)Tc(OH(2))(3)(CO)(3)](+) or [Re(OH(2))(3)(CO)(3)](+) in a facial geometry. This allows the development of novel radiopharmaceuticals. Selective derivatization at the N(epsilon) position has conveniently been achieved by concomitant protection of N(alpha) and N(delta) with a carbonyl group forming a six-membered urea. Cyclic urea ring opening with Fm-OH, coupling of phenylalanine as a model to 7 b through its primary amine and removing of all protecting groups in one step gave a histidine derivative of phenylalanine which could be labeled at 10(-5) M with (99m)Tc in very high yield and even in about 50 % yield at 10(-6) M. The Xray structure of a complex with [Re(CO)(3)](+) in which anilin is coupled to 7 b confirms the facial arrangement of histidine. A second pathway applies directly the [Re(CO)(3)](+) moiety as a protecting group. This is one of the rare examples in which a metal fragment is used as a protecting group for organic functionalities. The coordination to histidine protects the N(alpha), N(delta) and COO group in one single step, subsequent alkylation with BrCH(2)COOH(R) at N(epsilon), coupling to phenylalanine and oxidative deprotection of [Re(CO)(3)](+) to [ReO(4)](-) gave the corresponding bioconjugate in which histidine is coupled to phenylalanine through an acetylamide at N(epsilon). Both methods offer convenient pathways to introduce histidine in a biomolecule under retention of its three coordination sites. The procedures are adaptable to any biomolecule with pendant amines and allow the development of novel radiopharmaceuticals or inversed peptides.

The symmetric rhenium(V) oxo Schiff base complexes trans-[ReO(OH2)(acac2en)]Cl and trans-[ReOCl(acac2pn)], where acac2en and acac2pn are the tetradentate Schiff base ligands N,N'-ethylenebis(acetylacetone) diimine and N,N'-propylenebis(acetylacetone) diimine, respectively, were reacted with monodentate phosphine ligands to yield one of two unique cationic phosphine complexes depending on the ligand backbone length (en vs pn) and the identity of the phosphine ligand. Reduction of the Re(V) oxo core to Re(III) resulted on reaction of trans-[ReO(OH2)(acac2en)]Cl with triphenylphosphine or diethylphenylphosphine to yield a single reduced, disubstituted product of the general type trans-[Re(III)(PR3)2(acac2en)]+. Rather unexpectedly, a similar reaction with the stronger reducing agent triethylphosphine yielded the intramolecularly rearranged, asymmetric cis-[Re(V)O(PEt3)(acac2en)]+ complex. Reactions of trans-[Re(V)O(acac2pn)Cl] with the same phosphine ligands yielded only the rearranged asymmetric cis-[Re(V)O(PR3)(acac2pn)]+ complexes in quantitative yield. The compounds were characterized using standard spectroscopic methods, elemental analyses, cyclic voltammetry, and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The crystallographic data for the structures reported are as follows: trans-[Re(III)(PPh3)2(acac2en)]PF6 (H48C48N2O2P2Re.PF6), 1, triclinic (P), a = 18.8261(12) A, b = 16.2517(10) A, c = 15.4556(10) A, alpha = 95.522(1) degrees , beta = 97.130(1) degrees , gamma = 91.350(1) degrees , V = 4667.4(5) A(3), Z = 4; trans-[Re(III)(PEt2Ph)2(acac2en)]PF6 (H48C32N2O2P2Re.PF6), 2, orthorhombic (Pccn), a = 10.4753(6) A, b =18.4315(10) A, c = 18.9245(11) A, V = 3653.9(4) A3, Z = 4; cis-[Re(V)O(PEt3)(acac2en)]PF6 (H33C18N2O3PRe.1.25PF6, 3, monoclinic (C2/c), a = 39.8194(15) A, b = 13.6187(5) A, c = 20.1777(8) A, beta = 107.7730(10) degrees , V = 10419.9(7) A3, Z = 16; cis-[Re(V)O(PPh3)(acac2pn)]PF6 (H35C31N2O3PRe.PF6), 4, triclinic (P), a = 10.3094(10) A, b =12.1196(12) A, c = 14.8146(15) A, alpha = 105.939(2) degrees , beta = 105.383(2) degrees , gamma = 93.525(2) degrees , V = 1698.0(3) A3, Z = 2; cis-[Re(V)O(PEt2Ph)(acac2pn)]PF6 (H35C23N2O3PRe.PF6), 5, monoclinic (P2(1)/n), a = 18.1183(18) A, b = 11.580(1) A, c = 28.519(3) A, beta = 101.861(2) degrees , V = 5855.9(10) A(3), Z = 4.

Several rhenium(V) oxo complexes with tetradentate N(2)O(2) Schiff base ligands were synthesized and characterized. The general synthetic procedure involved reaction of [NBu(4)][ReOCl(4)] with a tetradentate Schiff base ligand (L(1) = N,N'-ethylenebis(acetylacetoneimine), (acac(2)en) or L(2) = N,N'-propylenebis(acetylacetoneimine) (acac(2)pn)) in ethanol solution to generate complexes of the form trans-ReOX(L) where X = Cl(-), MeO(-), ReO(4)(-), or H(2)O. The product isolated from the reaction was found to be dependent on the reaction conditions, in particular the presence or absence of water and/or base. The mu-oxo-Re(2)O(3)(L)(2) dimers were synthesized and characterized for chemical and structural comparison to the related monomers. Conversion of the monomer to its dimer analogue was followed qualitatively by spectrophotometry. The complexes were characterized by (1)H and (13)C NMR, UV-vis, and IR spectroscopy, elemental analysis, and single crystal X-ray diffraction. The crystallographic data reported for the structures are as follows: trans-[ReO(OH(2))(acac(2)en)]Cl (H(20)C(12)ClN(2)O(4)Re) 1, triclinic (Ponemacr;), a = 7.2888(6) A, b = 9.8299(8) A, c = 10.8195(9) A, alpha = 81.7670(10) degrees, beta = 77.1510(10) degrees, gamma = 87.6200(10) degrees, V = 747.96(11) A(3), Z = 2; trans-[ReO(OReO(3))(acac(2)en)] (H(18)C(12)N(2)O(7)Re(2)) 2, monoclinic (P2(1)/c), a = 7.5547(4) A, b = 8.7409(5) A, c= 25.7794(13) A, beta = 92.7780(10) degrees, V = 1700.34(16) A(3), Z = 4; trans-[ReOCl(acac(2)pn)] (H(20)C(13)N(2)O(3)ClRe) 3, monoclinic (P2(1)/c), a = 8.1628(5) A, b = 13.0699(8) A, c = 28.3902(17) A, beta = 97.5630(10) degrees, V = 3002.5(3) A(3), Z = 8; trans-[ReO(OMe)(acac(2)pn)] (H(23)C(14)N(2)O(4)Re) 4, monoclinic (P2(1)/c), a = 6.7104(8) A, b = 27.844(3) A, c = 8.2292(9) A, beta = 92.197(2) degrees, V = 1536.4(3) A(3), Z = 4; trans-[mu-oxo-Re(2)O(3)(acac(2)en)(2)] (H(36)C(24)N(4)O(7)Re(2)) 5, monoclinic (P2(1)/n), a = 9.0064(5) A, b = 12.2612(7) A, c = 12.3695(7) A, beta = 90.2853(10) degrees, V = 1365.94(13) A(3), Z = 2; and trans-[mu-oxo Re(2)O(3)(acac(2)pn)(2)] (H(40)C(26)N(4)O(7)Re(2)) 6, monoclinic (P2(1)/n), a = 9.1190(5) A, b = 12.2452(7) A, c = 12.8863(8) A, beta = 92.0510(10) degrees, V = 1438.01(14) A(3), Z = 2.

The labeling of targeting peptides with (99m)Tc is a useful concept for the diagnosis of various diseases such as cancer. Although in research for at least one decade, only a very few radiopharmaceuticals based on peptides are in clinical use. The difficulty of labeling, and the resulting authenticity of the new vector, is largely responsible for this observation. In this overview, we present an alternate strategy based on the organometallic fac-[(99m)Tc(CO)(3)](+) core for introducing (99m)Tc in biomolecules in general and in peptides in particular. The three coordination sites available in [(99m)Tc(OH(2))(3)(CO)(3)](+) can be occupied with many different ligand types, pendant to a biomolecule and serving as the anchor group for labeling. This makes the appropriate choice difficult. We intend to present some useful concepts for the practice. Monodentate chelators are robust but bear the risk of multiple binding of biomolecules. Coordinating a bidentate ligand of choice prior to labeling bypasses this problem and enables a systematic drug discovery by variation of the bidentate ligand. Bidentate ligands attached to the biomolecule are stronger but occasionally require protection of the remaining site by a monodentate ligand. Both approaches refer to a mixed-ligand [2+1] approach. Tridentate chelators are the most efficient but need some protecting group chemistry in order to achieve selectivity for the coupling process. Examples with cysteine and histidine are presented. This article aims to provide versatile and reproducible approaches for the labeling of biomolecules while not focusing on particular systems. It should be left to the readers to derive a strategy for their own peptide.

S‐Alkylated cysteines are used as efficient tridentate N,O,S‐donor‐atom ligands for the fac‐[M(CO)3]+ moiety (M=99mTc or Re). Reaction of (Et4N)2[ReBr3(CO)3] (3) with the model S‐benzyl‐L‐cysteine (2) leads to the formation of [Re(2′)(CO)3] (4) as the exclusive product (2′=C‐terminal anion of 2). The tridentate nature of the alkylated cysteine in 4 was established by X‐ray crystallography. Compound 2 reacts with [99mTc(OH2)3(CO)3]+ under mild conditions (10−4 M, 50°, 30 min) to afford [99mTc(2′)(CO)3] (5) and represents, therefore, an efficient chelator for the labelling of biomolecules. L‐Cysteine, S‐alkylated with a 3‐aminopropyl group (→7), was conjugated via a peptide coupling sequence with Coα‐[α‐(5,6‐dimethyl‐1H‐benzimidazolyl)]‐Coβ‐cyanocobamic b‐acid (6), the b‐acid of cyanocob(III)alamin (vitamin B12) (Scheme 3). More convenient was a one‐pot procedure with a derivative of vitamin B12 comprising a free amine group at the b‐position. This amine 15 was treated with NHS (N‐hydroxysuccinimide)‐activated 1‐iodoacetic acid 14 to introduce an I‐substituent in vitamin B12. Subsequent addition of unprotected L‐cysteine resulted in nucleophilic displacement of the I‐atom by the S‐substituent, affording the vitamin B12 alkylated cysteine fragment 17 (Scheme 4). The procedure was quantitative and did not require purification of intermediates. Both cobalamin–cysteine conjugates could be efficiently labelled with [99mTc(OH2)3(CO)3]+ (1) under conditions identical to those of the model complex 5. Biodistribution studies of the cobalamin conjugates in mice bearing B10‐F16 melanoma tumors showed a tumor uptake of 8.1±0.6% and 4.4±0.5% injected dose per gram of tumor tissue after 4 h and 24 h, respectively (Table 1).