Organofluorosilicon based
18
F-radiolabeling is an efficient
method for incorporating fluorine-18 into
18
F-radiopharmaceuticals
for positron emission tomography (PET) by
19
F/
18
F isotopic exchange (IE). The first PET radiopharmaceutical,
18
F-SiFA
lin
-TATE, radiolabeled with a silicon-based
[
18
F]fluoride acceptor (SiFA), namely, a para-substituted
di-
tert
-butyl[
18
F]fluorosilylbenzene,
has entered clinical trials, and is paving the way for other potential
[
18
F]SiFA-labeled radiopharmaceuticals for diagnostic use.
In this study, we report the
in vitro
metabolism
of an oxime-linked SiFA tetrazine (SiFA–Tz), a new PET-radiotracer
candidate, recently evaluated for pretargeted PET imaging and macromolecule
labeling. Metabolism of SiFA–Tz was studied in mouse liver
microsomes (MLM) for elucidating its major biotransformation pathways.
Nontargeted screening by ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography
high-resolution mass spectrometry (UHPLC-HRMS) was utilized for detection
of unknown metabolites. The oxime bond between the SiFA and Tz groups
forms two geometric (
E
/
Z
) isomers,
which underwent the same biotransformations, but unexpectedly with
different kinetics. In total, nine proposed metabolites of SiFA–Tz
from phase I and II reactions were detected, five of which were defluorinated
in MLMs, elucidating the metabolic pathway leading to previously reported
defluorination of [
18
F]SiFA–Tz
in vivo
. Based on the HRMS studies a biotransformation pathway is proposed:
hydroxylation (+O) to
tert
-butyl group adjacent to
the silicon, followed by oxidative defluorination (+OH/-F) cleaving
the fluorine off the silicon. Interestingly, eight proposed metabolites
of a reduced dihydrotetrazine analogue, SiFA–H
2
Tz,
from phase I and II reactions were additionally detected. To the best
of our knowledge, this is the first reported comprehensive investigation
of enzyme mediated metabolic pathway of tetrazines and para-substituted
di-
tert
-butylfluorosilylbenzene fluoride acceptors,
providing novel structural information on the biotransformation and
fragmentation patterns of radiotracers bearing these structural motifs.
By investigating the metabolism preceding defluorination, structurally
optimized new SiFA compounds can be designed for expanding the portfolio
of efficient
19
F/
18
F isotopic exchange labeling
probes for PET imaging.