1,5-Disubstituted 1,2,3-Triazoles as Amide Bond Isosteres Yield Novel Tumor-Targeting Minigastrin Analogs.

[Image: see text] 1,5-Disubstituted 1,2,3-triazoles (1,5-Tz) are considered bioisosteres of cis-amide bonds. However, their use for enhancing the pharmacological properties of peptides or proteins is not yet well established. Aiming to illustrate their utility, we chose the peptide conjugate [Nle(15)]MG11 (DOTA-dGlu-Ala-Tyr-Gly-Trp-Nle-Asp-Phe-NH(2)) as a model compound since it is known that the cholecystokinin-2 receptor (CCK2R) is able to accommodate turn conformations. Analogs of [Nle(15)]MG11 incorporating 1,5-Tz in the backbone were synthesized and radiolabeled with lutetium-177, and their pharmacological properties (cell internalization, receptor binding affinity and specificity, pla…