Automatic synthesis of 16 alpha-[(18)F]fluoro-17beta-estradiol using a cassette-type [(18)F]fluorodeoxyglucose synthesizer.
16 alpha-[(18)F]fluoro-17beta-estradiol ([(18)F]FES) is a radiotracer for imaging estrogen receptors by positron emission tomography. We developed a clinically applicable automatic preparation system for [(18)F]FES by modifying a cassette-type [(18)F]fluorodeoxyglucose synthesizer. Two milligrams of 3-O-methoxymethyl-16,17-O-sulfuryl-16-epiestriol in acetonitrile was heated at 105 degrees C for 10 min with dried [(18)F]fluoride. The resultant solution was evaporated and hydrolyzed with 0.2 N HCl in 90% acetonitrile/water at 95 degrees C for 10 min under pressurized condition. The neutralization was carried out with 2.8% NaHCO(3), and then the high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) purification was performed. The desired radioactive fraction was collected and the solvent was replaced by 10 ml of saline, and then passed through a 0.22-microm filter into a pyrogen-free vial as the final product. The HPLC purification data demonstrated that [(18)F]FES was synthesized with a yield of 76.4+/-1.9% (n=5). The yield as the final product for clinical use was 42.4+/-3.2% (n=5, decay corrected). The total preparation time was 88.2+/-6.4 min, including the HPLC purification and the solvent replacement process. The radiochemical purity of the final product was >99%, and the specific activity was more than 111 GBq/micromol. The final product was stable for more than 6 h in saline containing sodium ascorbate. This new preparation system enables us to produce [(18)F]FES safe for clinical use with high and reproducible yield.
Mori
Tetsuya
T
Biomedical Imaging Research Center, University of Fukui, Matsuoka, Fukui 910-1193, Japan. morit@fmsrsa.fukui-med.ac.jp
Kasamatsu
Shingo
S
Mosdzianowski
Christoph
C
Welch
Michael J
MJ
Yonekura
Yoshiharu
Y
Fujibayashi
Yasuhisa
Y
D004355:Drug Stability; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D004958:Estradiol / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000737:chemistry; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18 / Q000737:chemistry*; D007553:Isotope Labeling / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals / Q000138:chemical synthesis*; D012371:Robotics / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods
D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D004958:Estradiol; C043436:16-fluoroestradiol