Chemical Research in Chinese Universities ›› 2021, Vol. 37 ›› Issue (4): 870-879.doi: 10.1007/s40242-021-1179-2

• Reviews • Previous Articles     Next Articles

A Pretargeting Strategy Enabled by Bioorthogonal Reactions Towards Advanced Nuclear Medicines: Application and Perspective

GAO Yun, CHEN Lei, GE Jianxian, CUI Jiabin, ZENG Jianfeng, GAO Mingyuan   

  1. Center for Molecular Imaging and Nuclear Medicine, State Key Laboratory of Radiation Medicine and Protection, School for Radiological and Interdisciplinary Sciences(RAD-X), Collaborative Innovation Center of Radiological Medicine of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, P. R. China
  • Received:2021-04-20 Revised:2021-05-19 Online:2021-08-01 Published:2021-06-09
  • Contact: ZENG Jianfeng, GAO Mingyuan E-mail:jfzeng@suda.edu.cn;gaomy@iccas.ac.cn
  • Supported by:
    This work was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China(No.2018YFA0208800), the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.81720108024), the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions, China(No.20KJA150006), the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province, China(No.BK20191418), the Suzhou Key Industry Technology Innovation Projects, China(No.SYG202036), and the Priority Academic Program Development(PAPD) of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions, China.

Abstract: Pretargeting is an innovative and promising approach in nuclear medicine for targeted-imaging/therapy through the following bioorthogonal reactions. It requires two reactive participants, one of which is a targeting vector and the other is a small radiolabeled probe capable of specifically coupling through bioorthogonal reactions with the targeting vector accumulated in the disease site. Compared to the conventional direct targeting approach, such a two-step scheme conceptually can achieve a higher imaging contrast and an improved therapeutic effect owing to the suppressed non-specific targeting. In this review, we will first give a brief introduction on pretargeting systems and the history of bioorthogonal reactions, and then focus on some important works about radionuclide delivering through the bioorthogonal reaction based pretargeting strategy. Finally, we will discuss the steps forward in respect to the future clinical translation and truly hope that this methodology would continue to make contributions to nuclear medicines.

Key words: Pretargeting, Bioorthogonal reaction, Nuclear medicine