AAZTA: An Ideal Chelating Agent for the Development of ⁴⁴ Sc PET Imaging Agents

Unprecedented fast and efficient complexation of Sc^III was demonstrated with the chelating agent AAZTA (AAZTA=1,4-bis(carboxymethyl)-6-[bis(carboxymethyl)]amino-6-methylperhydro-1,4-diazepine) under mild experimental conditions. The robustness of the ⁴⁴ Sc(AAZTA)^- chelate and conjugated biomolecules thereof is further shown by in vivo PET imaging in healthy and tumor mice models. The new results pave the way towards development of efficient Sc-based radiopharmaceuticals using the AAZTA chelator.