Radiation therapy (RT) evolved to be a primary treatment modality for cancer patients. Unfortunately, the cure or relief of symptoms is still accompanied by radiation-induced side effects with severe acute and late pathophysiological consequences. Inhibitors of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) are potentially useful in this regard because radioprotection of normal tissue and/or radiosensitizing effects on tumor tissue have been described for several compounds of this structurally diverse class. This review aims to substantiate the hypothesis that antioxidant COX-2 inhibitors are promising radioprotectants because of intercepting radiation-induced oxidative stress and inflammation in normal tissue, especially the vascular system. For this, literature reporting on COX inhibitors exerting radioprotective and/or radiosensitizing action as well as on antioxidant COX inhibitors will be reviewed comprehensively with the aim to find cross-points of both and, by that, stimulate further research in the field of radioprotective agents.

Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) is a key player in inflammation. Its overexpression is directly associated with various inflammatory diseases and, additionally, with several processes of carcinogenesis. The development of new selective COX-2 inhibitors (COXIBs) for use in cancer treatment is in the focus of the medicinal chemistry research field. For this purpose, a set of methods is available to determine COX-2 expression and activity in vitro and ex vivo but it is still a problem to functionally characterize COX-2 in vivo. This review focusses on imaging agents targeting COX-2 which have been developed for positron emission tomography (PET) and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) since 2005. The literature reveals that different radiochemical methods are available to synthesize COXIBs radiolabeled with fluorine-18, carbon-11, and isotopes of radioiodine. Unfortunately, most of the compounds tested did not show sufficient stability in vivo due to de[¹⁸F]fluorination or de[¹¹C]methylation or they failed to bind specifically in the target region. So, suitable stability in vivo, matching lipophilicity for the target compartment and both high affinity and selectivity for COX-2 were identified as prominent criteria for radiotracer development. Up to now, it is not clear what approach and which model is the most suited to evaluate COX-2 targeting imaging agents in vivo. However, for proof of principle it has been shown that some radiolabeled compounds can bind specifically in COX-2 overexpressing tissue which gives hope for future work in this field.

Bone defects of critical size after compound fractures, infections, or tumor resections are a challenge in treatment. Particularly, this applies to bone defects in patients with impaired bone healing due to frequently occurring metabolic diseases (above all diabetes mellitus and osteoporosis), chronic inflammation, and cancer. Adjuvant therapeutic agents such as recombinant growth factors, lipid mediators, antibiotics, antiphlogistics, and proangiogenics as well as other promising anti-resorptive and anabolic molecules contribute to improving bone healing in these disorders, especially when they are released in a targeted and controlled manner during crucial bone healing phases. In this regard, the development of smart biocompatible and biostable polymers such as implant coatings, scaffolds, or particle-based materials for drug release is crucial. Innovative chemical, physico- and biochemical approaches for controlled tailor-made degradation or the stimulus-responsive release of substances from these materials, and more, are advantageous. In this review, we discuss current developments, progress, but also pitfalls and setbacks of such approaches in supporting or controlling bone healing. The focus is on the critical evaluation of recent preclinical studies investigating different carrier systems, dual- or co-delivery systems as well as triggered- or targeted delivery systems for release of a panoply of drugs.

The review highlights the role of 2-[¹⁸F]fluoroethyltosylate ([¹⁸F]FETs) in PET radiotracer design since it is a preferred labeling reagent according to its high reactivity to phenolic, amine, thiophenolic and carboxylic functions.