Search

A scaffold bearing eight terminal alkyne groups was synthesized from sucrose, and copies of an azide-terminated Gd-DOTA complex were attached via copper(I)-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition. The resulting contrast agent (CA) was administered by gavage to C3H mice. Passage of the CA through the gastrointestinal (GI) tract was followed by T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) over a period of 47h, by which time the CA had exited the GI tract. No evidence for leakage of the CA from the GI tract was observed. Thus, a new, orally administered CA for MRI of the GI tract has been developed and successfully demonstrated., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

A labeled variant of MSH(4), a tetrapeptide that binds to the human melanocortin 4 receptor (hMC4R) with low microM affinity, was prepared by solid-phase synthesis methods, purified, and characterized. The labeled ligand, Eu-DTPA-PEGO-His-dPhe-Arg-Trp-NH(2), exhibited a K(d) for hMC4R of 9.1+/-1.4 microM, approximately 10-fold lower affinity than the parental ligand. The labeled MSH(4) derivative was employed in a competitive binding assay to characterize the interactions of hMC4R with monovalent and divalent MSH(4) constructs derived from squalene. The results were compared with results from a similar assay that employed a more potent labeled ligand, Eu-DTPA-NDP-alpha-MSH. While results from the latter assay reflected only statistical effects, results from the former assay reflected a mixture of statistical, proximity, and/or cooperative binding effects., (Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)