hepatocarcinoma) and healthy rat hepatocytes has shown that the system containing the glutamine vector bound through the α‐carboxylic group displays a markedly higher affinity for tumorcells. The observed behavior is rationalized in terms of the exploitation of an additional glutamine transporter active in hepatic tumorcells.
Efficient routes to DOTA-monoamide ligands bearing amino, hydroxyl, aldehyde and maleimido groups are described. These functional groups, which can be spaced at will from the coordination cage, will readily react with suitable groups of targeting moieties. Bioconjugates obtained in this way can be used for diagnostic imaging and therapeutic applications.