title: Synthesis of oncological [11C]radiopharmaceuticals for clinical PET.
abstract: Positron emission tomography (PET) is a nuclear medicine modality which provides quantitative images of biological processes in vivo at the molecular level. Several PET radiopharmaceuticals labeled with short-lived isotopes such as (18)F and (11)C were developed in order to trace specific cellular and molecular pathways with the aim of enhancing clinical applications. Among these [(11)C]radiopharmaceuticals are N-[(11)C]methyl-choline ([(11)C]choline), l-(S-methyl-[(11)C])methionine ([(11)C]methionine) and 1-[(11)C]acetate ([(11)C]acetate), which have gained an important role in oncology where the application of 2-[(18)F]fluoro-2-deoxy-d-glucose ([(18)F]FDG) is suboptimal. Nevertheless, the production of these radiopharmaceuticals did not reach the same level of standardization as for [(18)F]FDG synthesis. This review describes the most recent developments in the synthesis of the above-mentioned [(11)C]radiopharmaceuticals aiming to increase the availability and hence the use of [(11)C]choline, [(11)C]methionine and [(11)C]acetate in clinical practice.
authors.affiliation: PET Radiopharmacy, Nuclear Medicine Unit, Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria di Bologna, Policlinico S. Orsola-Malpighi, Bologna, Italy. filippo.lodi@aosp.bo.it
authors.forename: Filippo
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lodi
authors.forename: Claudio
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Malizia
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Castellucci
authors.forename: Gianfranco
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cicoria
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fanti
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Boschi
mesh_terms: D002250:Carbon Radioisotopes; D060326:Chemistry Techniques, Synthetic / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography / Q000379:methods*; D011786:Quality Control; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals / Q000138:chemical synthesis*
chemical_list: D002250:Carbon Radioisotopes; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals