[Ga]Ga-THP-Pam: A Bisphosphonate PET Tracer with Facile Radiolabeling and Broad Calcium Mineral Affinity.

Calcium minerals such as hydroxyapatite (HAp) can be detected noninvasively using nuclear imaging agents such as [F]NaF (available from cyclotrons), for positron emission tomography (PET) and Tc-radiolabeled bisphosphonates (BP; available from Tc generators for single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) or scintigraphy). These two types of imaging agents allow detection of bone metastases (based on the presence of HAp) and vascular calcification lesions (that contain HAp and other calcium minerals). With the aim of developing a cyclotron-independent PET radiotracer for these lesions, with broad calcium mineral affinity and simple one-step radiolabeling, we developed [Ga]Ga-THP-Pam.