[18F]Radiochemistry using the nano tek microfluidic synthesis system

Abstract

The use of continuous-flow microfluidics in radiochemistry has only emerged in recent years.[1,2] Microfluidic devices feature channels with internal diameters of 10–300 mm, which process fluids with high speed and precision, resulting in improved mixing efficiency. Other advantages of microfluidic technology include shorter reaction times, greater radiochemical yield (RCY), and reduced consumption of reagents.[3] Recently, the first account of a positron emission tomography (PET) radiotracer for human use produced on a batch-mode microfluidics system was reported.[4] Currently, the most employed commercial microfluidic system in radiochemistry is the NanoTek Microfluidic Synthesis System manufactured by Advion[5] (Fig. 1) and its components and method of operation have been described in detail previously.[6] Although the system has been applied to radiochemical syntheses using radioisotopes such as carbon-11,[7] nitrogen-13,[8] and technetium-99m,[9] the overwhelming majority of research using the NanoTek system has been directed towards fluorine-18 (18F, t1/2¼109.7 min) radiochemistry. Some recent, noteworthy examples are highlighted below and their results compared with conventional radiochemical methods. © 2013 CSIRO Publishin