Metal ion size profoundly affects H3glyox chelate chemistry

The bisoxine hexadentate chelating ligand H3glyox was investigated for its affinity for Mn2+, Cu2+ and Lu3+ ions; all three metal ions are medicinally relevant with applications in nuclear medicine and medicinal inorganic chemistry. The aqueous coordination chemistry and thermodynamic stability of all three metal complexes was thoroughly investigated by detailed DFT structure calculations and stability constant determination, by employing UV in-batch spectrophotometric titrations, giving pM values – pCu (25.2) > pLu (18.1) > pMn (12.0). DFT calculated structures revealed different geometries and coordination preferences of the three metal ions; notable was an inner sphere water molecule in the Mn2+ complex. H3glyox labels [52Mn]Mn2+, [64Cu]Cu2+ and [177Lu]Lu3+ at ambient conditions with apparent molar activities of 40 MBq/mol, 500 MBq/mol and 25 GBq/mol, respectively. Collectively, these initial investigations provide significant insight into the effects of metal ion size and charge on the chelation with the hexadentate H3glyox and the potential use of the Mn2+-H3glyox complex in 52/55Mn-based bimodal imaging.