Research project Fluorination of anticancer peptide drug conjugates

Alkylating agents, in particular nitrogen-based alkylators are commonly used to treat hematological and solid malignancies; they exert their antineoplastic effects at all phases of the cell cycle and prevent reproduction of tumor cells. Certain alkylating agents have been designed to be more lipophilic, enabling the compound to penetrate the cell and enhance its alkylating activity against tumors. This project is directed to development of new technology for fluorine-18 labelling of nitrogen based alkylating anticancer agents. Then, using these PET tracers new knowledge will be gained on which structural features are most prominent for directing which organs will be most affected by the drug.