Facile stereospecific synthesis and biological evaluation of (S)- and (R)-2-amino-2-methyl-4-[123I]iodo-3-(E)-butenoic acid for brain tumor imaging with single photon emission computerized tomography.

Both enantiomers of 2-amino-2-methyl-4-iodo-3-(E)-butenoic acid (IVAIB, 5) were radioiodoinated in 65-72% yield. (S)-IVAIB entered 9L gliosarcoma cells primarily via A-type transport in vitro with higher uptake than (R)-IVAIB. Biodistribution studies in rats with 9L gliosarcoma brain tumors demonstrated higher tumor to brain ratios with (S)-IVAIB (75:1 at 1 h) than (R)-IVAIB (7.7:1). In this model, (S)-IVAIB is superior to (R)-IVAIB and is a promising radiotracer for brain tumor imaging.