Two radiolabeled bicyclic nucleoside analogues (BCNAs) were synthesized, namely 3-(2'-deoxy-
![](/images/gifchars/beta2.gif)
-
D-ribofuranosyl)-6-(3-[
18F]fluoroethoxyphenyl)-2,3-dihydrofuro[2,3-
d]pyrimidin-2-one ([
18F]-
2) and 3-(2'-deoxy-
![](/images/gifchars/beta2.gif)
-
D-ribofuranosyl)-6-(3-[
11C]methoxyphenyl)-2,3-dihydrofuro[2,3-
d]pyrimidin-2-one ([
11C]-
3), and evaluatedas PET reporter probes for varicella-zoster virus thymidine kinase (VZV-tk) gene expression imaging inbrain. [
18F]-
2 and [
11C]-
3 were synthesized starting from phenol precursor
1. The phenol precursor
1 wasconverted to stable as well as to radiolabeled compounds
2 and
3 using
19/18FCH
2CH
2Br or
12/11CH
3I asalkylating agent. In vitro evaluation of [
18F]-
2 and [
11C]-
3 in 293T cells showed a 4.5 and 53-fold higheruptake, respectively, into VZV-tk gene-transduced cells compared to control cells. However, biodistributionstudies in mice demonstrated low uptake of these tracers in the brain. RP-HPLC analysis of plasma andurine samples of mice injected with [
11C]-
3 revealed that this tracer is very stable in vivo. These data warrantfurther evaluation of these tracers as noninvasive imaging agents for VZV infection and VZV-tk reportergene expression in vivo.