Fluorinated pyrazolidine-3,5-dione derivatives are developed with the aim to find a positron emission tomography (PET) tracer candidate for imaging of the P2Y₁₂ receptor. All compounds show nanomolar affinity. One compound is radiolabeled with ¹⁸F and used in PET imaging studies, revealing rapid metabolism and limited brain uptake. The results provide valuable insights for advancing PET tracer developments for the P2Y₁₂ receptor.

The purinergic receptor P2Y₁₂ (P2Y₁₂R) has emerged as a promising biomarker for selectively imaging the anti-inflammatory phenotype of microglia. Developing positron emission tomography (PET) tracers for this target is an active area of research, as imaging of specific microglial phenotypes can provide valuable insights into their dynamics in neuroinflammation. A key challenge is identifying high affinity P2Y₁₂R ligands with optimal properties for targeting this receptor in the central nervous system (CNS). Herein, the synthesis and evaluation of a series of fluorinated pyrazolidine-3,5-dione derivatives are conducted as potential P2Y₁₂R PET tracers, designed based on a literature compound with promising physicochemical properties for brain permeability. All synthesized derivatives exhibit strong affinity for the human P2Y₁₂R in vitro, with K _i values ranging from 1.21 to 5.66 nM. One candidate is selected for radiolabeling with fluorine-18 ([¹⁸F]8) and evaluated in healthy rats using dynamic PET imaging, as well as ex vivo biodistribution and metabolism studies. Unfortunately, [¹⁸F]8 shows low brain uptake, potentially due to deprotonation of the pyrazolidine-3,5-dione scaffold in vivo, in addition to a rapid metabolism. These findings highlight the need for novel chemical entities as starting points for tracer development to target the P2Y₁₂R in the CNS.