Hepatobiliary delivery of polyaminopolycarboxylate chelates: synthesis and characterization of a cholic acid conjugate of EDTA and biodistribution and imaging studies with its indium-111 chelate.

A conjugate in which the steroid nucleus of cholic acid was linked to EDTA via an 11-atom spacer was obtained by reacting the succinimidyl ester of cholic acid with the amine formed by reaction of a benzyl isothiocyanate derivative of EDTA with N-(tert-butoxycarbonyl)ethylenediamine and subsequent deprotection. Potentiometric titration studies with model complexes showed that the EDTA moiety retained the ability to form 1:1 chelates of high thermodynamic stability, although formation constants were some 3-4 log K units lower for complexes of the conjugate than for the analogous chelates with underivatized EDTA. A complex formed between the cholic acid-EDTA conjugate and 111InIII was clearly rapidly into the liver when injected iv into mice, with subsequent excretion from the liver into the gastrointestinal tract being complete within 1 h of injection. Radioscintigraphic imaging studies conducted in a rabbit given the 111In-labeled conjugate also showed early liver uptake followed by rapid clearance from the liver into the intestine, with good visualization of the gallbladder in images obtained at 20-25 min postinjection. It is concluded that conjugation to cholic acid provides a useful means for the hepatobiliary delivery of EDTA chelates that otherwise exhibit predominantly extracellular distribution and renal clearance.