Biodistribution of fullerene derivative C60(OH)x(O)y

The biological behavior of fullerene derivatives shows their considerable potential application in medicine field. To understand the biodistribution of C60 derivatives as drugs or drug carriers, a simple water-soluble derivative C60(OH)x(O)y was labeled with99mTc. A γ-counter and a single photo emission computed tomography (SPECT) were used to assess the biodistribution and metabolism of the labeled compound in mice and rabbits, respectively. The results showed that the compound could be absorbed rapidly by tissues, especially by coronal bone, breastbone, backbone, extremity honeycomb, liver and spleen. The clearance was slow from all tissues except for brain. The compound might be excreted through urine and enteron. The biodistribution shows some difference from that of Yamago et al. In this note, we discuss the possible reason leading to the difference. Further study is needed to find out to what extent the C60 itself determines the biodistribution of derivatives.