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Updated: May 1, 2026
Labeling and Imaging of Amyloid Plaques in Brain Tissue Using the Natural Polyphenol Curcumin
Published on: November 1, 2019
Synthesis and evaluation of a (18)F-curcumin derivate for β-amyloid plaque imaging
Johanna Rokka1, Anniina Snellman2, Cristiano Zona3
1Turku PET Centre, Radiopharmaceutical Chemistry Laboratory, University of Turku, Porthaninkatu 3, FI-20500 Turku, Finland.
Introduction:
Curcumin is a neuroprotective compound that inhibits the formation of amyloid oligomers and fibrils and binds to β-amyloid plaques in Alzheimer's disease (AD). We aimed to synthesize an (18)F-labeled curcumin derivate ([(18)F]4) and to characterize its positron emission tomography (PET) tracer-binding properties to β-amyloid plaques in a transgenic APP23 mouse model of AD.
Methods:
We utilized facile one-pot synthesis of [(18)F]4 using nucleophilic (18)F-fluorination and click chemistry. Binding of [(18)F]4 to β-amyloid plaques in the transgenic APP23 mouse brain cryosections was studied in vitro using heterologous competitive binding against PIB. [(18)F]4 uptake was studied ex vivo in rodents and in vivo using PET/computed tomography of transgenic APP23 and wild-type control mice.
Results:
The radiochemical yield of [(18)F]4 was 21 ± 11%, the specific activity exceeded 1TBq/μmol, and the radiochemical purity exceeded 99.3% at the end of synthesis. In vitro studies of [(18)F]4 with the transgenic APP23 mouse revealed high β-amyloid plaque binding. In vivo and ex vivo studies demonstrated that [(18)F]4 has fast clearance from the blood, moderate metabolism but low blood-brain barrier (BBB) penetration.
Conclusions:
[(18)F]4 was synthesized in high yield and excellent quality. In vitro studies, metabolite profile, and fast clearance from the blood indicated a promising tracer for Aβ imaging. However, [(18)F]4 has low in vivo BBB penetration and thus further studies are needed to reveal the reason for this and to possibly overcome this issue.
