Radioiodination of a natural toxin (ICD-85) for fighting cancer

Abstract

<strong>Introduction:</strong> Many molecules can be labeled by iodine. Some of labeled substances are used for investigations of cancer treatment, biodistribution study in body, receptor binding, secrete pathway etc. Peptides are biomolecules and can be labeled by 131Iodine. ICD- 85 is a tri-peptide derived from Iranian brown snake venom and scorpion venom. This tri-peptide treats cancer by inducing apoptosis. In this study, radioiodination and normal mice biodistribution of ICD-85 was performed by different values of Chloramine-T. <strong>Materials and Methods:</strong> This tri-peptide isolated from snake and yellow scorpion venom by HPLC and gel chromatography. Labeling with iodine-131 was done by Chloramine-T method. The reaction was performed by different values of chloramine T. The values 50, 100, 150, 200, 250 micrograms were chosen for this radiolabelling. Stability of labeled tripeptide was investigated in phosphate buffer saline for one day. Biodistribution study was studied in normal mice. <strong>Results:</strong> The results show that, the use of 20 micrograms of Chloramine-T leads to radiochemical purity of more than 45 percent. The stability of labeled compound was considerable (more than 40%) after 24 hours. Biodistriution study in normal mice show that, the liver is organ of target. <strong> </strong> <strong>Conclusion:</strong> The natural toxins such as snake and scorpion venoms can be labeled with radionuclides and used as cancer treatment agent.