A New Class of Highly Potent Matrix Metalloproteinase Inhibitors Based on Triazole-Substituted Hydroxamates: (Radio)Synthesis and in Vitro and First in Vivo Evaluation

In vivo imaging of MMPs is of great (pre)­clinical interest and can potentially be realized with modern three-dimensional and noninvasive in vivo molecular imaging techniques such as positron emission tomography (PET). Consequently, MMP inhibitors (MMPIs) radiolabeled with positron emitting nuclides (e.g., ¹⁸F) represent a suitable tool for the visualization of activated MMPs with PET. On the basis of our previous work and results regarding radiolabeled and unlabeled derivatives of the nonselective MMPIs, we discovered a new class of fluorinated MMPIs with a triazole-substituted hydroxamate substructure. These novel MMPIs are characterized by an increased hydrophilicity compared with the lead structures and excellent MMP inhibition potencies for MMP-2, MMP-8, MMP-9, and MMP-13 (IC₅₀ = 0.006–107 nM). Therefore, one promising fluorinated triazole-substituted hydroxamate (<b>30b</b>) was selected and resynthesised as its ¹⁸F-labeled version to yield the potential PET radioligand <b>[</b>^<b>18</b><b>F]­30b</b>. The biodistribution behavior of this novel compound was investigated with small animal PET