Microwave-Assisted Synthesis of 3,1,2- and 2,1,8-Re(I) and 99mTc(I)−Metallocarborane Complexes

Microwave heating was used to prepare eta5-rhenium carborane complexes in aqueous reaction media. For carboranes bearing sterically demanding substituents, isomerization of the cage from 3,1,2 to 2,1,8 derivatives occurred concomitantly with complexation. Microwave heating was equally effective at the tracer level using technetium-99m, affording access to a new class of synthons for designing novel molecular imaging agents.