title: Robotic synthesis of 6-[18F]fluoro-L-dopa.
abstract: The aim of this study was to develop a method of semi-automated 6-[18F]fluoro-L-dopa (6-[18F]FDOPA) synthesis using a robotic system (Scanditronix Anatech RB III, Uppsala, Sweden). [18F]Fluorine was produced via 20Ne(d,alpha)18F using a Scanditronix MC17F cyclotron (Uppsala). The radiosynthesis was performed by the Scanditronix Anatech RB III robotic system. On average, a typical run produced 16-19 mCi of 6-[18F]FDOPA at end of synthesis (EOS) after 2 h irradiation of the F2/neon gas target. The total synthesis time was 110 min. The retention time of 6-[18F]FDOPA (the radio peak) was 8.2 min, which was consistent with the 6-[19F]FDOPA ultraviolet peak. The radiochemical purity was greater than 97%. A robotic, semi-automated method for 6-[18F]FDOPA radiosynthesis is therefore feasible. The radiation burden for the operator can be reduced as much as possible. Sufficient activity of 6-[18F]FDOPA could be obtained for positron emission tomography studies of dopaminergic function.
authors.affiliation: National PET/Cyclotron Center, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, and National Yang-Ming University School of Medicine, Taiwan.
authors.forename: C W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: H E
authors.initials: HE
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: H M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: C S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Chtsai
authors.forename: J B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: R S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D004295:Dihydroxyphenylalanine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005462:Fluorine Radioisotopes
chemical_list: D005462:Fluorine Radioisotopes; C043437:fluorodopa F 18; D004295:Dihydroxyphenylalanine