Automated light-induced synthesis of 89Zr-radiolabeled antibodies for immuno-positron emission tomography

Clinical production of 89Zr-radiolabeled antibodies (89Zr-mAbs) for positron emission tomography imaging relies on the pre-conjugation of desferrioxamine B (DFO) to the purified protein, followed by isolation and characterization of the functionalized intermediate, and then manual radiosynthesis. Although highly successful, this route exposes radiochemists to a potentially large radiation dose and entails several technological and economic hurdles that limit access of 89Zr-mAbs to just a specialist few Nuclear Medicine facilities worldwide. Here, we introduce a fully automated synthesis box that can produce individual doses of 89Zr-mAbs formulated in sterile solution in < 25 min starting from [89Zr(C2O4)4]4– (89Zr-oxalate), our good laboratory practice-compliant photoactivatable desferrioxamine-based chelate (DFO-PEG3-ArN3), and clinical-grade antibodies without the need for pre-purification of protein. The automated steps include neutralization of the 89Zr-oxalate stock, chelate radiolabeling, and light-induced protein conjugation, followed by 89Zr-mAb purification, formulation, and sterile filtration. As proof-of-principle, 89ZrDFO-PEG3-azepin-trastuzumab was synthesized directly from Herceptin in < 25 min with an overall decay-corrected radiochemical yield of 20.1 ± 2.4% (n = 3), a radiochemical purity > 99%, and chemical purity > 99%. The synthesis unit can also produce 89Zr-mAbs via the conventional radiolabeling routes from pre-functionalized DFO-mAbs that are currently used in the clinic. This automated method will improve access to state-of-the-art 89Zr-mAbs at the many Nuclear Medicine and research institutions that require automated devices for radiotracer production.

Modelling competition between the siderophore ferrioxamine B and humic like binding sites in seawater v1

Here we archive a protocol that can be used to determine competition between a siderophore (ferrioxamine B) and humic like binding sites that are present in marine DOM. We use the NICA-Donnan model to describe binding by humic like binding sites in DOM. Constants for Fe binding to marine DOM are taken from Zhu et al., (2021). Thermodynamic constants describing binding between major ions, iron and ferrioxamine B are taken from Schijf and Burns, (2016). References Schijf, J., Burns, S.M., 2016. Determination of the Side-Reaction Coefficient of Desferrioxamine B in Trace-Metal-Free Seawater. Front. Mar. Sci. 3, 117. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2016.00117 Zhu, K., Birchill, A.J., Milne, A., Ussher, S.J., Humphreys, M.P., Carr, N., Mahaffey, C., Lohan, M.C., Achterberg, E.P., Gledhill, M., 2021a. Equilbrium calculations of iron speciation and apparent iron solubility in the Celtic Sea at ambient pH using the NICA-Donnan model. Mar. Chem

Isolation and Structure Elucidation of Desferrioxamine B and the New Desferrioxamine B2 Antibiotics from a Brown Marine Macroalga Carpodesmia tamariscifolia Associated Streptomyces Isolate

Today, emerging infectious diseases caused by multidrug-resistant bacteria (MDRB) are a major public health problem. These bacteria are gradually becoming more resistant to conventional antimicrobial agents. Thus, there is an urgent requirement to explore new antimicrobial compounds. This study focuses on a screening program of marine actinobacteria for useful bioactive compounds against MDRB, and four endophytic actinobacteria strain isolated from the unexploited marine brown alga Carpodesmia tamariscifolia, harvested from the Atlantic coast of Morocco, were screened for their antimicrobial activities using the agar diffusion assay. Fermentation broths of the two selected promising isolates KC179 and KC180 were extracted with different organic solvents and showed antibacterial activity against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Acinetobacter baumannii, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. From the butanolic extract of KC180's culture broth and in addition to the known metabolite desferrioxamine B, a new desferrioxamine derivative, desferrioxamine B2, was purified using flash chromatography and reversed-phase HPLC, and its structure was elucidated using HRMS and NMR spectroscopy. The 16S rRNA molecular taxonomic characterization of the producing strain KC180 showed Streptomyces albidoflavus as the nearest relative, with a sequence similarity of 99.71 %.

Automated Light-Induced Synthesis of 89Zr-Radiolabeled Antibodies for Immuno-Positron Emission Tomography

Clinical production of 89Zr-radiolabeled antibodies (89Zr-mAbs) for positron emission tomography (PET) imaging relies on the pre-conjugation of desferrioxamine B (DFO) to the purified protein, followed by isolation and characterization of the functionalized intermediate, and then manual radiosynthesis. Although highly successful, this route exposes radiochemists to a potentially large radiation dose and entails several technological and economic hurdles that limit access of 89Zr-mAbs to just a specialist few Nuclear Medicine facilities worldwide. Here, we introduce a fully automated synthesis box that can produce individual doses of 89Zr-mAbs formulated in sterile solution in <25 min starting from [89Zr(C2O4)4]4– (89Zr-oxalate), our Good Laboratory Practice-compliant photoactivatable desferrioxamine-based chelate (DFO-PEG3-ArN3), and clinical-grade antibodies without the need for pre-purification of protein. The automated steps include neutralization of the 89Zr-oxalate stock, chelate radiolabeling, and light-induced protein conjugation, followed by 89Zr-mAb purification, formulation, and sterile filtration. As proof-of-principle, 89ZrDFO-PEG3-azepin-trastuzumab was synthesized directly from Herceptin in <25 min with an overall decay-corrected radiochemical yield of 20.1±2.4% (n=3), a radiochemical purity >99%, and chemical purity >99%. The synthesis unit can also produce 89Zr-mAbs via the conventional radiolabeling routes from pre-functionalized DFO-mAbs that are currently used in the clinic. This automated method will improve access to state-of-the-art 89Zr-mAbs at the many Nuclear Medicine and research institutions that require automated devices for radiotracer production.

Streptomyces botrytidirepellens sp. nov., a novel actinomycete with antifungal activity against Botrytis cinerea

The fungal pathogen Botrytis cinerea is the causal agent of devastating gray mold diseases in many economically important fruits, vegetables, and flowers, leading to serious economic losses worldwide. In this study, a novel actinomycete NEAU-LD23T exhibiting antifungal activity against B. cinerea was isolated, and its taxonomic position was evaluated using a polyphasic approach. Based on the genotypic, phenotypic and chemotaxonomic data, it is concluded that the strain represents a novel species within the genus Streptomyces , for which the name Streptomyces botrytidirepellens sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is NEAU-LD23T (=CCTCC AA 2019029T=DSM 109824T). In addition, strain NEAU-LD23T showed a strong antagonistic effect against B. cinerea (82.6±2.5%) and varying degrees of inhibition on nine other phytopathogenic fungi. Both cell-free filtrate and methanol extract of mycelia of strain NEAU-LD23T significantly inhibited mycelial growth of B. cinerea. To preliminarily explore the antifungal mechanisms, the genome of strain NEAU-LD23T was sequenced and analyzed. AntiSMASH analysis led to the identification of several gene clusters responsible for the biosynthesis of bioactive secondary metabolites with antifungal activity, including 9-methylstreptimidone, echosides, anisomycin, coelichelin and desferrioxamine B. Overall, this research provided us an excellent strain with considerable potential to use for biological control of tomato gray mold.

Desferrioxamine B-Mediated Pre-Clinical In Vivo Imaging of Infection by the Mold Fungus Aspergillus fumigatus

Fungal infections are a serious threat, especially for immunocompromised patients. Early and reliable diagnosis is crucial to treat such infections. The bacterially produced siderophore desferrioxamine B (DFO-B) is utilized by a variety of microorganisms for iron acquisition, while mammalian cells lack the uptake of DFO-B chelates. DFO-B is clinically approved for a variety of long-term chelation therapies. Recently, DFO-B-complexed gallium-68 ([68Ga]Ga-DFO-B) was shown to enable molecular imaging of bacterial infections by positron emission tomography (PET). Here, we demonstrate that [68Ga]Ga-DFO-B can also be used for the preclinical molecular imaging of pulmonary infection caused by the fungal pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus in a rat aspergillosis model. Moreover, by combining in vitro uptake studies and the chemical modification of DFO-B, we show that the cellular transport efficacy of ferrioxamine-type siderophores is impacted by the charge of the molecule and, consequently, the environmental pH. The chemical derivatization has potential implications for its diagnostic use and characterizes transport features of ferrioxamine-type siderophores.