Direct radioiodination
of peptides using copper-mediated iododeboronation
is a promising radiosynthetic method for solving issues of classical
direct radiolabeling, such as toxicity of the organotin precursor
(iododestannylation) or formation of radio byproducts (by electrophilic
iodination of a tyrosine residue). However, the parameters for optimizing
the reaction conditions for various peptides are not completely understood.
In particular, considering peptide solubility, the effects of water-containing
solvents on labeling efficiency should be thoroughly investigated.
Herein, we describe the effect of water on copper-mediated radioiododeboronation
and the key factors for ensuring the successful radiolabeling of small
molecules and peptides in water–organic solvents. 125I-labeled substrates containing peptides ([125I]m/p-IBTA) were obtained with high radiochemical
conversions (RCCs: >95%) using an alcohol solvent, and a decrease
in these RCCs was observed with increasing water content in the methanol
solvent. Additionally, when using water–methanol solvents,
a difference in RCC due to the substituent effect was also observed.
However, the RCCs can be improved without the use of other additives
by adjusting the copper catalyst and time of the labeling reaction
or by utilizing substituent effects. This study contributes to the
improvement of the design of boronic peptide precursors and radiolabeling
protocols using copper-mediated iododeboronation.