Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 30, 2026

A New Technique for Treating Low-risk Prostate Cancer—Super Active Surveillance
Published on: November 7, 2025
H3RESCA chelator-enabled [18F]AlF labeling: An optimized temperature-resilient platform for PSMA-targeted PET tracers
Yukai Zhang1, Zhoumi Hu2, Qingyu Zhang1
1Department of Nuclear Medicine, Renji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200127, China; MOE Key Lab of Resource Chemistry, Joint International Research Laboratory of Resource Chemistry of Ministry of Education, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Functional Materials, and Shanghai Frontiers Science Centre of Biomimetic Catalysis, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai, 200234, China.
Objective:
Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) has emerged as a pivotal biomarker for the molecular imaging and targeted therapy of prostate cancer. To address the ongoing need for PSMA-targeting radiotracers with improved mild-labeling capability and reduced non-target organ exposure, beyond currently approved agents (e.g., [68Ga]Ga-PSMA-11) that require higher temperatures or show hepatobiliary clearance, a novel 18F-labeled PSMA inhibitor, [18F]AlF-H3RESCA-PSMA, was developed for PET imaging of prostate cancer.
Methods:
H3RESCA-PSMA was synthesized with an acyclic pentadentate chelator and radiolabeled with [18F]AlF at room temperature. Biodistribution and PET/CT studies were performed in PSMA-positive tumor xenografts, with [18F]AlF-PSMA-RESCA1 as comparator.
Results:
Radiochemical yield was 75.5 ± 5.0%. [18F]AlF-H3RESCA-PSMA showed 2-fold higher tumor uptake and slower wash-out versus PSMA-RESCA1, while exhibiting markedly reduced liver and kidney retention. PET images revealed superior tumor contrast and faster background clearance.
Conclusions:
[18F]AlF-H3RESCA-PSMA offers enhanced PSMA-targeting specificity and imaging contrast, supporting its clinical translation for prostate cancer PET.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Targeted Cancer Therapies
There are several types of targeted therapies against...
Complexation Equilibria: The Chelate Effect
Optimal Foraging
Optimization Problems
Body Temperature
Body Temperature
The average body temperature is approximately 37°C (98.6°F) and typically ranges from 36.1–37.2°C...

