BoBo

Cationic boranes have proved to be excellent anion sensors capable of forming highly stable adducts with fluoride in water and even transfer the fluoride from an aqueous phase to an organic phase. Based on preliminary results from our consortium which have established that their use for fluorination purposes is a reality, our proposal aims at developping recyclable moieties in order to perform nucleophilic fluorations starting from cheap aqueous fluoride solutions. The method will be extended to radiofluorations processes as they are expected to avoid time consuming drying sequences. This would clearly significantly ease the production of radiolabelled molecules for Positron Emission Tomography (PET). Another interesting feature is the ability of cationic boronic compounds to form trifluoroborate zwitterions in the presence of fluorides stable in buffered solutions at physiological pH. We will perform the functionnalization of the boronate (making them cationic) in order to allow their conjugation to biomolecules. The obtained compounds will also be used in order to radiolabel biomolecules such as peptides and oligonucleotides. This is expected to ease the exploitation of the exceptionnal biological properties of the latter in medical imaging. We will pay a particular attention to the specific activity issue.