• Journal of Radiopharmaceuticals and Molecular Probes
• /
• v.7 no.1
• /
• pp.22-32
• /
• 2021

Fluorine-18 is by far the most widely exploited radionuclide in PET (positron emission tomography) radiochemistry. The physical half-life of fluorine-18 allows for chemical manipulation within a restricted timeframe, and cyclotron-produced fluoride ion has been widely applied in aliphatic and aromatic nucleophilic radiofluorinations to produce a variety of established radiotracers. Radiotracers have become more structurally complicated to address diverse targets in physiobiological systems. There is therefore an unmet need to complement traditional C-¹⁸F bond-forming radiofluorination with new and efficient radiolabeling techniques to tackle the myriad of possible chemical environments. This review discusses recent advances in organometallic fluorine-18 bond creation in ¹⁸F-radiochemistry. Although not widely employed, new radiolabeling strategies for constructing boron-¹⁸F, silicon-¹⁸F, aluminum-¹⁸F, and other metal-¹⁸F bonds are described in view of their potential use in the development of novel radiopharmaceuticals.

• Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging
• /
• v.43 no.2
• /
• pp.91-99
• /
• 2009

Noninvasive imaging of molecular and biological processes in living subjects with positron emission tomography(PET) provides exciting opportunities to monitor metabolism and detect diseases in humans. Measuring these processes with PET requires the preparation of specific molecular imaging probes labeled with $^{18}F$-fluorine. In this review we describe recent methods and novel trends for the introduction of $^{18}F$-fluorine into molecules which in turn are intended to serve as imaging agents for PET study. Nucleophilic $^{18}F$-fluorination of some halo- and mesyloxyalkanes to the corresponding $^{18}F$-fluoroalkanes with $^{18}F$-fluoride obtained from an $^{18}O(p,n)^{18}F$ reaction, using novel reaction media system such as an ionic liquidor tert-alcohol, has been studied as a new method for $^{18}F$-fluorine labeling. Ionic liquid method is rapid and particularly convenient because $^{18}F$-fluoride in $H_2O$ can be added directly to the reaction media, obviating the careful drying that is typically required for currently used radiofluorination methods. The nonpolar protic tert-alcohol enhances the nucleophilicity of the fluoride ion dramatically in the absence of any kind of catalyst, greatly increasing the rate of the nucleophilic fluorination and reducing formation of byproducts compared with conventional methods using dipolar aprotic solvents. The great efficacy of this method is a particular advantage in labeling radiopharmaceuticals with $^{18}F$-fluorine for PETimaging, and it is illustrated by the synthesis of $^{18}F$-fluoride radiolabeled molecular imaging probes, such as $^{18}F$-FDG, $^{18}F$-FLT, $^{18}F$-FP-CIT, and $^{18}F$-FMISO, in high yield and purity and in shorter times compared to conventional syntheses.

• Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging
• /
• v.40 no.4
• /
• pp.228-232
• /
• 2006

Purpose: electrophilic $^{18}F(T_{1/2}=110\;min)$ radionuclide in the form of $[^{18}F]F_2$ gas is of great significance for labeling radiopharmaceuticals for positron omission tomography (PET). However, its production In high yield and with high specific radioactivity is still a challenge to overcome several problems on targetry. The aim of the present study was to develop a method suitable for the routine production of $[^{18}F]F_2$ for the electrophilic substitution reaction. Materials and Methods: The target was designed water-cooled aluminum target chamber system with a conical bore shape. Production of the elemental fluorine was carried out via the $^{18}O(p,n)^{18}F$ reaction using a two-step irradiation protocol. In the first irradiation, the target filled with highly enriched $^{18}O_2$ was irradiated with protons for $^{18}F$ production, which were adsorbed on the inner surface of target body. In the second irradiation, the mixed gas ($1%[^{19}F]F_2/Ar$) was leaded into the target chamber, fellowing a short irradiation of proton for isotopic exchange between the carrier-fluorine and the radiofluorine absorbed in the target chamber. Optimization of production was performed as the function of irradiation time, the beam current and $^{18}O_2$ loading pressure. Results: Production runs was performed under the following optimum conditions: The 1st irradiation for the nuclear reaction (15.0 bar of 97% enriched $^{18}O_2$, 13.2 MeV protons, 30 ${\mu}A$, 60-90 min irradiation), the recovery of enriched oxygen via cryogenic pumping; The 2nd irradiation for the recovery of absorbed radiofluorine (12.0 bar of 1% $[^{19}F]fluorine/argon$ gas, 13.2 MeV protons, 30 ${\mu}A$, 20-30 min irradiation) the recovery of $[^{18}F]fluorine$ for synthesis. The yield of $[^{18}F]fluorine$ at EOB (end of bombardment) was achieved around $34{\pm}6.0$ GBq (n>10). Conclusion: The production of $^{18}F$ electrophilic agent via $^{18}O(p,n)^{18}F$ reaction was much under investigation. Especially, an aluminum gas target was very advantageous for routine production of $[^{18}F]fluorine$. These results suggest the possibility to use $[^{18}F]F_2$ gas as a electrophilic substitution agent.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
• /
• v.41 no.4
• /
• pp.321-327
• /
• 2018

The purpose of this study is to compare PET imaging performance with Fluorine-18 ($^{18}F$) and Gallium-68 ($^{68}Ga$) for influence of physical properties of PET tracer. Measurement were performed on a Siemens Biograph mCT64 PET/CT scanner using NEMA IEC body phantom and Flangeless Esser PET phantom containing filled with $^{18}F$ and $^{68}Ga$. Emission scan duration(ESD) was set to 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5min/bed for $^{68}Ga$ and 1min/bed for $^{18}F$. The PET image were evaluated in terms of contrast, spatial resolution. Under same condition, The percentage of contrast recovery measured in the phantom ranged from 16.88% to 72.56% for $^{68}Ga$ and from 27.51% to 74.43% for $^{18}F$ and The FWHM value to evaluate spatial resolution was 10.96 mm for $^{68}Ga$ and 9.19 mm for $^{18}F$. For this study, $^{18}F$ produces better image contrast and spatial resolution than $^{68}Ga$ due to higher positron yield and lower positron energy ($^{18}F$: 96.86%, 633.5 keV, $^{68}Ga$: 88.9%, 1899 keV), The physical properties of PET tracer effect on the PET image. $^{68}Ga$ image applying ESD of 3, 4, 5min/bed were showed similar to $^{18}F$ image with ESD of 1min/bed. This study suggests that increasing ESD for acquiring $^{68}Ga$ PET image seem to be similar to $^{18}F$ image.

• Restorative Dentistry and Endodontics
• /
• v.2 no.1
• /
• pp.15-19
• /
• 1976

The author studied on the transfer of radioactive fluorine ($^{18}F$) to dental hard tissue through animal experiments which was divided into two groups. First group of rats were sacrified 1, 2, 5, 10 and 20 minutes after intraperitoneal injection. Second group were sacrified 1 and 3 minutes after topical application on anterior teeth. The teeth were removed and sectioned by means of abrasive wheel and polished on india stone as thick as about 50 microns. Autoradiograph picture was made by close contact of high-speed dental X-ray film on prepared specimen for 2 hours. The results of this study were as follows; 1) There was no evidence of transfer of $^{18}F$ on dental hard tissue on the cases of 1, 2 and 5 minutes survival after intraperitoneal injection. 2) Radioactive sodium fluorine incorporated to dental hard tissue was slight and diffuse at 10 minutes cases and significant incorporated picture was noticed at 20 minutes cases in intraperitoneal injection. 3) On topical application groups incorporated $^{18}F$ to enamel was traced clearly only on enamel surface at 1 minute cases and significant transfer into whole enamel was found at 3 minutes cases.

• Journal of Radiopharmaceuticals and Molecular Probes
• /
• v.3 no.1
• /
• pp.3-14
• /
• 2017

Nucleophilic aromatic fluorination has been one of the most explored methods in fluorin-18 based radiochemistry. Unlike electrophilic $[^{18}F]$fluorination methods, no-carrier-added nucleophilic radiofluorination with cyclotron-produced $[^{18}F]$fluoride ion offers better specific radioactivity which is essential aspect to obtain good quality images from positron emission tomography. Contrary to amenable aliphatic radiofluorination, the development of reliable aromatic $[^{18}F]$fluorination methods has been pursued by many research groups; however, no viable method has yet been established. Recently, hypervalent iodine compound draws increasing attention as versatile radiolabeling precursor for various $[^{18}F]$fluoroarenes, since it bears the capacity to introduce fluorine-18 either on electron-deficient or electron-rich aryl ring with enhanced regiospecificity. Other classes of hypervalent iodine congeners often utilized in radiochemistry are iodylarenes, iodonium ylides, and spirocyclic iodonium ylides. Recently developed spirocyclic iodonium ylides have already been avidly employed to provide various $[^{18}F]$aryl fluorides with high labeling efficiency. This metal-free protocol would afford efficient routes, replacing the traditional approaches to $[^{18}F]$fluoroarenes, from prosthetic labeling synthons to complex PET radiotracers.

• Journal of Radiopharmaceuticals and Molecular Probes
• /
• v.5 no.2
• /
• pp.145-151
• /
• 2019

Fluorine-18 is considered to be the radionuclide of choice for positron emission tomography (PET). Thus, the development of small molecule-based radiopharmaceuticals for use in diagnostic imaging relies heavily on efficient radiofluorination techniques. Until the early 2000s, diaryliodonium salts and aryliodonium ylides were widely employed as labeling precursors to yield aromatic PET radiotracers with cyclotron-produced [¹⁸F]fluoride ion. Rapid recent progress in the development of efficient borylation methods has led to a paradigm shift in ¹⁸F-labeling methods. In addition, deoxyfluorination has attracted a great deal of interest as an alternative approach to aryl ring activation with ¹⁸F^-. In this review, methods for radiolabel development are discussed with a specific focus on the progress made in the last 5 years. Other interesting ¹⁸F-based protocols are also briefly introduced. New methods for exploiting ¹⁸F^- are expected to increase the number of ¹⁸F-labeling methods, to allow applications in a range of chemical environments.

• Journal of Radiopharmaceuticals and Molecular Probes
• /
• v.1 no.2
• /
• pp.80-87
• /
• 2015

Carbon-fluorine (C-F) bonds have been found ubiquitously in pharmaceuticals, radiopharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, and material science due to their unique properties such as thermal and oxidative stability and lipophilicity to improve bioavailability. For the past five years, there have been significant advances in F-18 fluorination of aromatic complex molecules combined with the development of late-stage fluorination reactions. More recently, direct incorporation of F-18 to fluorinated aromatic molecules via borylation of C-F bonds has been developed by Niwa and Hosoya. In this minireview, we will discuss the progress of C-F bondborylation of fluorinated arenes utilizing transition metal catalysts and the impact on the development of F-18 radiotracers for positron emission tomography (PET).

• Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging
• /
• v.43 no.1
• /
• pp.1-9
• /
• 2009

As many new drug substances contained various aromatic rings and fluorine attached to an electron rich aromatic ring or on the meta-position, a strategy towards improvement in aromatic fluorination of these compounds is highly desirable. The introduction of fluorine-18 onto aromatic rings showed in the limited condition containing electron withdrawing group (EWG) on the para- or ortho-position to get reasonable radiochemical yield so far. No-carrier added (NCA) [$^{18}F$]fluoroarene syntheses by iodonium salts recently reported that has the potential to greatly increase the yield in systems or positions that normally not reactive enough to give sufficient yields in simple model reaction. This review describes the methodological approach towards effective aromatic fluorination by diaryliodonium salts and future prospects in an application of novel PET radiotracer.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
• /
• v.13 no.3
• /
• pp.147-151
• /
• 2009

Purpose: 2-[$^{18}F$]Fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose ([$^{18}F$]FDG) particularly plays as a important role in Positron Emission Tomography (PET) imaging in nuclear medicine. Domestic [$^{18}F$]FDG auto synthesizers are installed in Seoul National University Bundang Hospital (SNUBH) at June 2008, these modules were known that it's synthetic yields were guaranteed in average $45{\pm}5%$ so far. To improve yields and convenience of domestic [$^{18}F$]FDG auto synthesizer, numerous trials in reaction time, base concentration, pressure and temperature were performed to increase [$^{18}F$]FDG yields. Materials and Methods: Several synthetic factors (temperature, time and pressure) and shortcoming were corrected based on many evaporation test. Syringe dispensing of tetra-butylammonium bicarbonate (TBAB) was replaced with micro pipette to prepare tetrabutyl ammonium fluoride salt ([$^{18}F$]TBAF). Troublesome refill of liquid nitrogen every 2 hours which was used to protect vacuum system was changed to charcoal cartridge, base guard filter. To monitor the volume of delivered $[^{18}O]OH_2$ from cyclotron by surveillance camera, we set up the volumetric vial on the cover of the module. In addition to, the recovery vial was added in [$^{18}F$]FDG production system to recover [$^{18}F$]FDG loss due to the leak of valve ($V_{13,14}$) in [$^{18}F$]FDG purification process. Results: When we used micro pipette for adding TBAB ($30\;{\mu}L$ in 12% $H_2O$ in acetonitrile), this quantitative dispensation has enabled to improve $5.5{\pm}1.7%$ residual fluorine-18 activity in fluorine separation cartridge compared to syringe adding. Besides, the synthetic yields of [$^{18}F$]FDG has increased $58{\pm}2.6%$ (n=19), $58{\pm}2.9%$ (n=14), $60%{\pm}2.5%$ (n=17) for 3 months. The life cycle of charcoal cartridge and base vacuum was 3 months prior to filling liquid nitrogen every 2 hours and additional side separator can prevent pump corrosion by organic solvent. After setting of volumetric indicator vial, the operator can easily monitor the total volume of irradiated $[^{18}O]OH_2$ from cyclotron. The recovery vial can be used for the stabilizer when an irregular [$^{18}F$]FDG loss was generated by the leak of valves ($V_{13,14}$). Conclusions: We has optimized appropriate synthetic conditions (temperature, time, pressure) in domestic [$^{18}F$]FDG auto synthesizer. In addition to, the remodeling with several accessories improve yields of domestic [$^{18}F$]FDG auto synthesizer with reliable reproducibility.