Use of [superscript 18]F‑2-Fluorodeoxyglucose to Label Antibody Fragments for Immuno-Positron Emission Tomography of Pancreatic Cancer

Abstract

We generated [superscript 18]F-labeled antibody fragments for positron emission tomography (PET) imaging using a sortase-mediated reaction to install a trans-cyclooctene-functionalized short peptide onto proteins of interest, followed by reaction with a tetrazine-labeled-[superscript 18]F-2-deoxyfluoroglucose (FDG). The method is rapid, robust, and site-specific (radiochemical yields > 25%, not decay corrected). The availability of [superscript 18]F-2-deoxyfluoroglucose avoids the need for more complicated chemistries used to generate carbon–fluorine bonds. We demonstrate the utility of the method by detecting heterotopic pancreatic tumors in mice by PET, using anti-Class II MHC single domain antibodies. We correlate macroscopic PET images with microscopic two-photon visualization of the tumor. Our approach provides easy access to [superscript 18]F-labeled antibodies and their fragments at a level of molecular specificity that complements conventional [superscript 18]F-FDG imaging.