Synthesis, Purification, and Tumor Cell Uptake of 67Ga-Deferoxamine−Folate, a Potential Radiopharmaceutical for Tumor Imaging

The vitamin folic acid was covalently linked to the chelating agent deferoxamine (DF) via an amide bond using a simple carbodiimide coupling reaction. A mixture of two isomers, DF−folate(α) and DF−folate(γ), was produced involving the α- and γ-carboxyl group of folic acid, respectively. These two isomers were separated by anion-exchange chromatography using a NH4HCO3 gradient. Competitive binding studies revealed that only the DF−folate(γ) is recognized by the folate receptor on KB cells, interacting with an affinity comparable to unconjugated folic acid. The DF−folate conjugates were radiolabeled with the γ-emitting radionuclide 67Ga3+ and tested for uptake by cultured KB cells overexpressing the folate receptor. The cellular accumulation of 67Ga-DF−folate(γ) complex was found to be time-, temperature-, and concentration-dependent. The 67Ga-DF−folate(γ) tracer exhibited rapid uptake kinetics in cell culture with a t1/2 of ∼3 min. The KB cell association of 67Ga-DF−folate(γ) was competitively blocked by free folic acid, indicating that uptake of the 67Ga-DF−folate(γ) was specifically mediated by the folate receptor. Since the folate receptor is overexpressed on the surfaces of many neoplastic cells, these results suggest that 67Ga-DF−folate(γ) complex might be useful as a diagnostic agent for noninvasive imaging of folate receptor-positing tumors.