Synthesis and evaluation of boron folates for Boron-Neutron-Capture-Therapy (BNCT)

Abstract Boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) employs 10 B-pharmaceuticals administered for the treatment of malignancies, and subsequently irradiated with thermal neutrons. So far, clinical established pharmaceuticals like boron phenylalanine (BPA) or sodium boron mercaptate (BSH) use imperfect (BPA) or passive (BSH) targeting for accumulation at target sites. Due to the need of a selective transportation of boron drugs into cancer cells and sparing healthy tissues, we combined the BNCT approach with the specific and effective folate receptor (FR) targeting concept. The FR is overexpressed on many human carcinomas and provides a selective and specific target for molecular imaging as well as for tumor therapy. We synthesized and characterized a carborane-folate as well as a BSH-folate to study their in vitro characteristics and their potential as new boron-carriers for BNCT. Uptake studies were carried out using human KB cells showing a significant increase of the boron content in cells and demonstrating the successful combination of active FR-targeting and BNCT.