A Novel PET Probe “[ 18 F]DiFA” Accumulates in Hypoxic Region via Glutathione Conjugation Following Reductive Metabolism

Purpose Hypoxia in tumor has close relationship with angiogenesis and tumor progression. Previously, we developed 2,2-dihydroxymethyl-3-[18F]fluoropropyl-2-nitroimidazole ([18F]DiFA) as a novel positron emission tomography (PET) probe for diagnosis of hypoxia. In this study, we elucidated whether the accumulation of [18F]DiFA in cells is dependent on the hypoxic state and revealed how [18F]DiFA accumulates in hypoxic cells in combination with imaging mass spectrometry (IMS).