title: High yield synthesis of [11C]-acetone through selective quenching of methyl lithium.
abstract: Carbon-11 labeled acetone is a useful radiosynthetic precursor. Previously, strict control of no-carrier-added stoichiometry was required to prepare it from reaction of CO2 and methyl lithium. However, excess methyl lithium may be selectively quenched to avoid reaction with nascent acetone to give tert-butanol. We report a simple pKa-based strategy to sequentially and selectively quench MeLi and acetone to give yields of up to 100% acetone even in the presence of a large excess of MeLi. The method gives good yields of acetone under conditions that previously precluded its synthesis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Case Western Reserve University and University Hospitals of Cleveland, Ohio 44106, USA.
authors.forename: A R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Studenov
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Berridge
authors.forename: D V
authors.initials: DV
authors.lastname: Soloviev
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Matarrese
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Todde
mesh_terms: D000096:Acetone / Q000138:chemical synthesis*; D002250:Carbon Radioisotopes; D007553:Isotope Labeling; D008094:Lithium
chemical_list: D002250:Carbon Radioisotopes; D000096:Acetone; D008094:Lithium