Tuning the Softness of the Pendant Arms and the Polyazamacrocyclic Backbone to Chelate the 203Pb/212Pb Theranostic Pair

A series of macrocyclic ligands were considered for the chelation of Pb2+: 1,4,7,10-tetrakis-[2-(methylsulfanyl)-ethyl]-1,4,7,10-tetraaza-cyclododecane (DO4S), 1,4,7-tris-[2-(methyl-sulfanyl)-ethyl]-1,4,7,10-tetra-azacyclo-dodecane (DO3S), 1,4,7-tris-[2-(methyl-sulfanyl)-ethyl]-10-acetamido-1,4,7,10-tetraaza-cyclododecane (DO3SAm), 1,7-bis-[2-(methylsulfanyl)-ethyl]-1,4,7,10-tetraaza-cyclododecane-4,10-diacetic acid (DO2A2S), 1,5,9-tris-[2-(methylsulfanyl)-ethyl]-1,5,9-triaza-cyclododecane (TACD3S), 1,4,7,10-tetrakis-[2-(methylsulfanyl)-ethyl]-1,4,7,10-tetrazacyclo-tridecane (TRI4S), and 1,4,8,11-tetrakis-[2-(methylsulfanyl)-ethyl]-1,4,8,11-tetraza-cyclotetradecane (TE4S). The equilibrium, the acid-mediated dissociation kinetics, and the structural properties of the Pb2+ complexes formed by these chelators were examined by UV-Visible and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopies, combined with potentiometry and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The obtained results indicated that DO4S, DO3S, DO3SAm, and DO2A2S were able to efficiently chelate Pb2+ and that the most suitable macrocyclic scaffold for Pb2+ is 1,4,7,10-tetraza-cyclododecane. NMR spectroscopy gave insights into the solution structures of the Pb2+ complexes, and (H-207Pb)-H-1 interactions confirmed the involvement of S and/or O donors in the metal coordination sphere. Highly fluxional solution behavior was discovered when Pb2+ was coordinated to symmetric ligands (i.e., DO4S and DO2A2S) while the introduction of structural asymmetry in DO3S and DO3SAm slowed down the intramolecular dynamics. The ligand ability to chelate [Pb-203]-Pb2+ under highly dilute reaction conditions was explored through radiolabeling experiments. While DO4S and DO3S possessed modest performance, DO3SAm and DO2A2S demonstrated high complexation efficiency under mild reaction conditions (pH = 7, 5 min reaction time). The [Pb-203]-Pb2+ complexes' integrity in human serum over 24 h was appreciably good for [203Pb]-[Pb-(DO4S)](2+) (80 +/- 5%) and excellent for [Pb-203]-[Pb-(DO3SAm)](2+) (93 +/- 1%) and [Pb-203]-[Pb-(DO2A2S)] (94 +/- 1%). These results reveal the promise of DO2A2S and DO3SAm as chelators in cutting-edge theranostic [Pb-203/212]-Pb2+ radiopharmaceuticals.