Design, characterization and evaluation of a new Tc-labeled folate derivative with affinity towards folate receptor.

Folate receptors (FRs) are known to be over-expressed in several human malignancies and therefore serve as an important target for small radiolabeled folate derivatives for non-invasive imaging of tumor, which is an important tool for future treatment recourse. In the present article, we report the synthesis of a new Tc-labeled radiotracer for the aforementioned application following the well-established Tc-'4+1' chemistry. Formation of the desired [Tc]Tc-complex with >95% radiochemical purity was confirmed by radio-HPLC and its structure was ascertained by characterizing a natural rhenium analogue of the said complex.