Heterocyclic Bisphenol Compounds for Prostate Cancer Imaging

The patent modifies the chemical structure of androgen receptor modulators by introducing novel heterocyclic groups (R3 substituents) to create compounds with altered binding characteristics. This structural parameter change enables the compounds to maintain effectiveness against castration-resistant prostate cancer by potentially targeting mutated or altered androgen receptors that resist conventional inhibitors.

The invention combines bisphenol core structures with diverse heterocyclic moieties (such as triazoles, pyridines, imidazoles, and other nitrogen-containing rings) to create composite molecular structures. These composite compounds integrate the androgen receptor binding capability of the bisphenol core with the enhanced specificity and resistance properties of the heterocyclic groups, resulting in multi-functional molecules effective against resistant cancer forms.

The patent employs radiolabeled compounds as intermediary agents that specifically bind to androgen receptors in prostate tissue. These radiotracers serve as mediators between the imaging system and the target AR-rich tissues, enabling visualization of androgen receptor distribution and splice variants through their radioactive signal emission that can be detected by SPECT imaging equipment.

The invention introduces radioactive isotopes (such as 123I) as substituents on the bisphenol-heterocyclic compounds to change their physical properties. This parameter change from non-radioactive to radioactive labeling enables the compounds to emit detectable signals for imaging while maintaining their biological activity and specificity for androgen receptor binding, thereby achieving precise imaging of AR-rich tissues.

The patent segments the molecular structure into distinct functional modules: a bisphenol core unit for androgen receptor binding, heterocyclic substituent groups (R3) for specificity and resistance properties, and radioactive isotope labels (such as 123I) for imaging. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently and facilitates modular synthesis of different radiolabeled variants for various imaging applications.

The bisphenol-heterocyclic scaffold serves multiple functions simultaneously: it maintains androgen receptor binding affinity, provides structural stability, enables radiolabeling at various positions, and allows for metabolic stability. This multi-functionality reduces overall complexity by using a single versatile core structure rather than requiring separate molecules for each function.