Organometallic Chemistry and Aqueous Solvents

Here we will recall just two of the advances made in the field of radiopharmaceuticals over the last few years. One shining example of an organometallic pharmaceutical that has been successfully commercialized is technetium-99m sestamibi, a hexakis (aUcyhsocyanide) complex of Tc(I) 29 that has become the most important myocardial imaging agent. The success of this compound, known by its trade name Cardiohte , has inspired researchers to develop other Tc-based radiopharmaceuticals [193-197]. 

Alberto has developed a method for directly converting [ Tc04] into [99m-p (0 j ) (Co)j]+ 30, which has attracted much interest as a versatile precursor for Tc radiopharmaceuticals. This water- and air-stable aquo-carbonyl complex 30 contains three labile water ligands that can easily be substituted with a wide 

As for organometallic amino acids, the peptides modified with them, and indeed the proteins and carbohydrates, their water solubility is a primary characteristic 

The panoramic view presented here, which encompasses for the first time the many different aspects of bioorganometallic chemistry, makes it clear that the field now has a solid base from which extensive, multidisciplinary development can reliably be expected over the next few decades. The discipline benefits from a number of positive factors, including its ability to accommodate complexity and diversity, its use of a two-pronged scientific approach, the importance of the problems to be solved, the state of development of contemporary organometaUic chemistry, the evolution of chemical thinking towards problems at interfaces and the amount of virgin terrain still to be explored. And perhaps above all, there is the opportunity offered to the imagination of the chemist in this science which, in Berthelofs words, creates its own purpose . 

Although bioorganometallic chemistry has already made great strides, there is much still on the horizon. There is no doubt that this avenue of research is capable of providing a source of inspiration and stimulating the creativity of chemists for the foreseeable future. In fact, some of the apparent obstacles to biological and biomedical applicability (aqueous solvents, time constraints for radiopharmaceuticals, anaerobic conditions, etc.), may be seen less as a brake than as a spur in the search for imaginative solutions. 

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