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Updated: Apr 25, 2026

Hyperpolarized 13C Metabolic Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy and Imaging
Published on: December 30, 2016
The antitumor agent 3-bromopyruvate has a short half-life at physiological conditions
Matthew Glick1, Perry Biddle1, Josh Jantzi1
1Department of Chemistry, Goshen College, Goshen, IN, United States.
Abstract:
Clinical research is currently exploring the validity of the anti-tumor candidate 3-bromopyruvate (3-BP) as a novel treatment for several types of cancer. However, recent publications have overlooked rarely-cited earlier work about the instability of 3-BP and its decay to 3-hydroxypyruvate (3-HP) which have obvious implications for its mechanism of action against tumors, how it is administered, and for precautions when preparing solutions of 3-BP. This study found the first-order decay rate of 3-BP at physiological temperature and pH has a half-life of only 77 min. Lower buffer pH decreases the decay rate, while choice of buffer and concentration do not affect it. A method for preparing more stable solutions is also reported.
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