Imaging of androgen receptor expression in prostate cancer using F-18 FDHT is becoming increasingly popular. With the radiolabelling precursor now commercially available, developing a fully automated synthesis of [(18) F] FDHT is important. We have fully automated the synthesis of F-18 FDHT using the iPhase FlexLab module using only commercially available components. Total synthesis time was 90 min, radiochemical yields were 25-33% (n = 11). Radiochemical purity of the final formulation was > 99% and specific activity was > 18.5 GBq/µmol for all batches. This method can be up-scaled as desired, thus making it possible to study multiple patients in a day. Furthermore, our procedure uses 4 mg of precursor only and is therefore cost-effective. The synthesis has now been validated at Austin Health and is currently used for [(18) F]FDHT studies in patients. We believe that this method can easily adapted by other modules to further widen the availability of [(18) F]FDHT.
Journal of labelled compounds & radiopharmaceuticals. 2016 Jul 04 [Epub ahead of print]
Uwe Ackermann, Jason S Lewis, Kenneth Young, Michael J Morris, Andrew Weickhardt, Ian D Davis, Andrew M Scott
Department of Molecular Imaging and Therapy, Austin Health, Heidelberg, Australia., Radiochemistry & Molecular Imaging Probe Core, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA., Department of Molecular Imaging and Therapy, Austin Health, Heidelberg, Australia., Genitourinary Oncology Service, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA., Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute, Heidelberg, Australia., Monash University Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia., Department of Molecular Imaging and Therapy, Austin Health, Heidelberg, Australia.