Abstract
Purpose: 6”-18F-fluoromaltotriose is a novel positron emission tomography (PET) tracer that can potentially be used to image and localize most bacterial infections, much like 2-deoxy-2-18F-fluoro-D-glucose (18F-FDG) has been used to image and localize many cancers. However, unlike 18F-FDG, 6”-18F-fluoromaltotriose is not taken up by inflammatory lesions and appears to be specific to bacterial infections by targeting the maltodextrin transporter that is expressed in most Gram-positive and Gram-negative strains of bacteria. Materials and Methods: 6”-18F-fluoromaltotriose was synthesized with high radiochemical purity and evaluated in several clinically relevant bacterial strains incultures in vitro and in living mice. Results: 6”-18F-fluoromaltotriose was taken up in both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial strains. 6”-[18F]-fluoromaltotriose was also able to detect Pseudomonas aeruginosa in a clinically relevant mouse model of wound infection. The utility of 6”-18F-fluoromaltotriose to help monitor antibiotic therapies was also evaluated in rats. Conclusion: 6”-18F-fluoromaltotriose is a promising new tracer that has significant diagnostic utility, with the potential to change the clinical management of patients suffering from infectious diseases of bacterial origin.
- Infectious Disease
- Molecular Imaging
- PET/CT
- 6-18F-Fluoromaltotriose
- Bacteria
- Infection imaging
- PET/CT imaging
- Copyright © 2017 by the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, Inc.