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ABSTRACT Non-activated (electron-rich and/or sterically hindered) arenes are prevalent chemical scaffolds in pharmaceuticals and positron emission tomography (PET) diagnostics. Despite
substantial efforts to develop a general method to introduce 18F into these moieties for molecular imaging by PET, there is an urgent and unmet need for novel radiofluorination strategies
that result in sufficiently labeled tracers to enable human imaging. Herein, we describe an efficient method that relies on spirocyclic iodonium ylide (SCIDY) precursors for one-step and
regioselective radiofluorination, as well as proof-of-concept translation to the radiosynthesis of a clinically useful PET tracer, 3-[18F]fluoro-5-[(pyridin-3-yl)ethynyl] benzonitrile
([18F]FPEB). The protocol begins with the preparation of a SCIDY precursor for FPEB, followed by radiosynthesis of [18F]FPEB, by either manual operation or an automated synthesis module.
[18F]FPEB can be obtained in quantities >7.4 GBq (200 mCi), ready for injection (20 ± 5%, non–decay corrected), and has excellent chemical and radiochemical purity (>98%) as well as
high molar activity (666 ± 51.8 GBq/μmol; 18 ± 1.4 Ci/μmol). The total time for the synthesis and purification of the corresponding labeling SCIDY precursor is 10 h. The subsequent
radionuclide production, experimental setup, 18F labeling, and formulation of a product that is ready for injection require 2 h. Access through your institution Buy or subscribe This is a
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* Log in * Learn about institutional subscriptions * Read our FAQs * Contact customer support SIMILAR CONTENT BEING VIEWED BY OTHERS ARENE RADIOFLUORINATION ENABLED BY PHOTOREDOX-MEDIATED
HALIDE INTERCONVERSION Article 13 December 2021 METALLAPHOTOREDOX ARYL AND ALKYL RADIOMETHYLATION FOR PET LIGAND DISCOVERY Article 25 November 2020 [18F]TOSYL FLUORIDE AS A VERSATILE
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We thank X. Zhang and Z. Chen for technical support and members of the staff in the radiochemistry and radiopharmaceutical development program at MGH for helpful
discussions. AUTHOR INFORMATION AUTHORS AND AFFILIATIONS * Division of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical
School, Boston, MA, USA Steven H. Liang, Lu Wang, Nickeisha A. Stephenson, Benjamin H. Rotstein & Neil Vasdev Authors * Steven H. Liang View author publications You can also search for
this author inPubMed Google Scholar * Lu Wang View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * Nickeisha A. Stephenson View author publications You can
also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * Benjamin H. Rotstein View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * Neil Vasdev View author
publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar CONTRIBUTIONS S.H.L., L.W., N.A.S., and B.H.R. performed the experimental work. S.H.L. and N.V. oversaw the
radiopharmaceutical production. All authors wrote the manuscript. CORRESPONDING AUTHOR Correspondence to Steven H. Liang. ETHICS DECLARATIONS COMPETING INTERESTS The authors declare no
competing interests. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION PUBLISHER’S NOTE: Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. RELATED
LINKS KEY REFERENCES USING THIS PROTOCOL Rotstein, B.H., Stephenson, N.A., Vasdev, N. & Liang, S.H_. Nat. Commun_. 5, 4365 (2014): https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms5365 Rotstein,
B.H. et al_. Chem. Sci_. 7, 4407–4417 (2016): https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2016/sc/c6sc00197a#!divAbstract Stephenson, N.A. et al. _J. Nucl. Med_. 56, 489–492 (2015):
http://jnm.snmjournals.org/content/56/3/489.long Wang, L. et al. _J. Med. Chem_. 60, 5222–5227 (2017): https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.jmedchem.7b00432 KEY DATA USED IN THIS PROTOCOL
Rotstein, B.H., Stephenson, N.A., Vasdev, N. & Liang, S.H. _Nat. Commun_. 5, 4365 (2014): https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms5365 Stephenson, N.A. et al. _J. Nucl. Med_. 56, 489–492
(2015): http://jnm.snmjournals.org/content/56/3/489.long SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION REPORTING SUMMARY RIGHTS AND PERMISSIONS Reprints and permissions ABOUT THIS ARTICLE CITE THIS ARTICLE
Liang, S.H., Wang, L., Stephenson, N.A. _et al._ Facile 18F labeling of non-activated arenes via a spirocyclic iodonium(III) ylide method and its application in the synthesis of the mGluR5
PET radiopharmaceutical [18F]FPEB. _Nat Protoc_ 14, 1530–1545 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41596-019-0149-3 Download citation * Received: 13 June 2017 * Accepted: 12 February 2019 *
Published: 12 April 2019 * Issue Date: May 2019 * DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41596-019-0149-3 SHARE THIS ARTICLE Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this
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