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Mc Veigh M, Bellan LM. Microfluidic synthesis of radiotracers: recent developments and commercialization prospects. Lab Chip 2024; 24:1226-1243. [PMID: 38165824 DOI: 10.1039/d3lc00779k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2024]
Abstract
Positron emission tomography (PET) is a powerful diagnostic tool that holds incredible potential for clinicians to track a wide variety of biological processes using specialized radiotracers. Currently, however, a single radiotracer accounts for over 95% of procedures, largely due to the cost of radiotracer synthesis. Microfluidic platforms provide a solution to this problem by enabling a dose-on-demand pipeline in which a single benchtop platform would synthesize a wide array of radiotracers. In this review, we will explore the field of microfluidic production of radiotracers from early research to current development. Furthermore, the benefits and drawbacks of different microfluidic reactor designs will be analyzed. Lastly, we will discuss the various engineering considerations that must be addressed to create a fully developed, commercially effective platform that can usher the field from research and development to commercialization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark Mc Veigh
- Interdisciplinary Materials Science Program, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, 37235, USA
| | - Leon M Bellan
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, 37235, USA.
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235, USA
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2
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Lu Y, Collins J, Lin KS, van Dam RM. Scalable droplet-based radiosynthesis of [ 18F]fluorobenzyltriphenylphosphonium cation ([ 18F]FBnTP) via a "numbering up" approach. Lab Chip 2024; 24:728-737. [PMID: 38240629 PMCID: PMC10869106 DOI: 10.1039/d3lc01068f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/15/2024]
Abstract
The [18F]fluorobenzyltriphenylphosphonium cation ([18F]FBnTP) has emerged as a highly promising positron emission tomography (PET) tracer for myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) due to its uniform distribution in the myocardium and favorable organ biodistribution demonstrated in preclinical studies. However, a complex and low-efficiency radiosynthesis procedure has significantly hindered its broader preclinical and clinical explorations. Recently, Zhang et al. developed a pinacolyl arylboronate precursor, enabling a one-step synthesis process that greatly streamlines the production of [18F]FBnTP. Building upon this progress, our group successfully adapted the approach to a microdroplet reaction format and demonstrated improved radiosynthesis performance in a preliminary optimization study. However, scaling up to clinical dose amounts was not explored. In this work, we demonstrate that scale-up can be performed in a straightforward manner using a "numbering up" strategy (i.e. performing multiple droplet reactions in parallel and pooling the crude products). The resulting radiochemical yield after purification and formulation was high, up to 66 ± 1% (n = 4) for a set of experiments involving pooling of 4 droplet reactions, accompanied by excellent radiochemical purity (>99%) and molar activity (339-710 GBq μmol-1). Notably, we efficiently achieved sufficient activity yield (0.76-1.84 GBq) for multiple clinical doses from 1.6 to 3.7 GBq of [18F]fluoride in just 37-47 min.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yingqing Lu
- Crump Institute for Molecular Imaging, University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), Los Angeles, CA, USA.
- Department of Molecular & Medical Pharmacology, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Physics and Biology in Medicine Interdepartmental Graduate Program, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Jeffrey Collins
- Crump Institute for Molecular Imaging, University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), Los Angeles, CA, USA.
- Department of Molecular & Medical Pharmacology, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Kuo-Shyan Lin
- Department of Molecular Oncology, BC Cancer Research Institute, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
- Department of Radiology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - R Michael van Dam
- Crump Institute for Molecular Imaging, University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), Los Angeles, CA, USA.
- Department of Molecular & Medical Pharmacology, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Physics and Biology in Medicine Interdepartmental Graduate Program, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
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Lu Y, He Y, Schibli R, Mu L, van Dam RM. Proof-of-concept optimization of a copper-mediated 18F-radiosynthesis of a novel MAGL PET tracer on a high-throughput microdroplet platform and its macroscale translation. Lab Chip 2023; 23:4652-4663. [PMID: 37818614 PMCID: PMC10608794 DOI: 10.1039/d3lc00735a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/12/2023]
Abstract
Copper-mediated radiofluorination has demonstrated remarkable potential in forming aromatic C-18F bonds of radioligands for positron emission tomography (PET). Achieving optimal results often requires optimization efforts, requiring a substantial amount of radiolabeling precursor and time, severely limiting the experimental throughput. Recently, we successfully showcased the feasibility of performing and optimizing Cu-mediated radiosynthesis on a high-throughput microdroplet platform using the well-known and clinically used radioligand [18F]FDOPA as an illustrative example. In our current work, we optimized the Cu-mediated synthesis of a novel monoacylglycerol lipase (MAGL) PET tracer ([18F]YH149), showing the versatility of droplet-based techniques for early stage tracer development. Across 5 days, we conducted a total of 117 experiments, studying 36 distinct conditions, while utilizing <15 mg of total organoboron precursor. Compared to the original report in which the radiochemical yield (RCY) was 4.4 ± 0.5% (n = 5), the optimized droplet condition provided a substantial improvement in RCY (52 ± 8%, n = 4) and showed excellent radiochemical purity (100%) and molar activity (77-854 GBq μmol-1), using a starting activity of 0.2-1.45 GBq. Furthermore, we showed for the first time a translation of the optimized microscale conditions to a vial-based method. With similar starting activity (0.2-1.44 GBq), the translated synthesis exhibited a comparable RCY of 50 ± 10% (n = 4) while maintaining excellent radiochemical purity (100%) and acceptable molar activity (20-46 GBq μmol-1). The successful translation to vial-based reactions ensures wider applicability of the optimized synthesis by leveraging widely available commercial vial-based synthesis modules.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yingqing Lu
- Crump Institute for Molecular Imaging, University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), Los Angeles, CA, USA.
- Department of Molecular & Medical Pharmacology, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Physics and Biology in Medicine Interdepartmental Graduate Program, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Yingfang He
- Center for Radiopharmaceutical Sciences, Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Roger Schibli
- Center for Radiopharmaceutical Sciences, Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Linjing Mu
- Center for Radiopharmaceutical Sciences, Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - R Michael van Dam
- Crump Institute for Molecular Imaging, University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), Los Angeles, CA, USA.
- Department of Molecular & Medical Pharmacology, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Physics and Biology in Medicine Interdepartmental Graduate Program, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
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Jones J, Do V, Lu Y, van Dam RM. Accelerating radiochemistry development: Automated robotic platform for performing up to 64 droplet radiochemical reactions in a morning. Chem Eng J 2023; 468:143524. [PMID: 37576334 PMCID: PMC10421640 DOI: 10.1016/j.cej.2023.143524] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/15/2023]
Abstract
The growing discovery and development of novel radiopharmaceuticals and radiolabeling methods requires an increasing capacity for radiochemistry experiments. However, such studies typically rely on radiosynthesizers designed for clinical batch production rather than research, greatly limiting throughput. Two general solutions are being pursued to address this: developing new synthesis optimization algorithms to minimize how many experiments are needed, and developing apparatus with enhanced experiment throughput. We describe here a novel high-throughput system based on performing arrays of droplet-based reactions at 10 μL volume scale in parallel. The automatic robotic platform can perform a set of 64 experiments in ~3 h (from isotope loading to crude product, plus sampling onto TLC plates), plus ~1 h for off-line radio-TLC analysis and radioactivity measurements, rather than the weeks or months that would be needed using a conventional system. We show the high repeatability and low crosstalk of the platform and demonstrate optimization studies for two 18F-labeled tracers. This novel automated platform greatly increases the practicality of performing arrays of droplet reactions by eliminating human error, vastly reducing tedium and fatigue, minimizing radiation exposure, and freeing up radiochemist time for other intellectually valuable pursuits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jason Jones
- Crump Institute of Molecular Imaging, University of California Los Angeles (UCLA),Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Physics and Biology in Medicine Interdepartmental Graduate Program, UCLA, USA
- Department of Molecular & Medical Pharmacology, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, US
| | - Viviann Do
- Crump Institute of Molecular Imaging, University of California Los Angeles (UCLA),Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Department of Biochemistry, UCLA, USA
| | - Yingqing Lu
- Crump Institute of Molecular Imaging, University of California Los Angeles (UCLA),Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Physics and Biology in Medicine Interdepartmental Graduate Program, UCLA, USA
- Department of Molecular & Medical Pharmacology, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, US
| | - R Michael van Dam
- Crump Institute of Molecular Imaging, University of California Los Angeles (UCLA),Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Physics and Biology in Medicine Interdepartmental Graduate Program, UCLA, USA
- Department of Molecular & Medical Pharmacology, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, US
- Department of Bioengineering, Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science, UCLA, USA
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Laferriere-Holloway TS, Rios A, Lu Y, Okoro CC, van Dam RM. A rapid and systematic approach for the optimization of radio thin-layer chromatography resolution. J Chromatogr A 2023; 1687:463656. [PMID: 36463649 PMCID: PMC9894532 DOI: 10.1016/j.chroma.2022.463656] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2022] [Revised: 11/16/2022] [Accepted: 11/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Radiopharmaceutical analysis is limited by conventional methods. Radio-HPLC may be inaccurate for some compounds (e.g., 18F-radiopharmaceuticals) due to radionuclide sequester. Radio-TLC is simpler, faster, and detects all species but has limited resolution. Imaging-based readout of TLC plates (e.g., using Cerenkov luminescence imaging) can improve readout resolution, but the underlying chromatographic separation efficiency may be insufficient to resolve chemically similar species such as product and precursor-derived impurities. This study applies a systematic mobile phase optimization method, PRISMA, to improve radio-TLC resolution. The PRISMA method optimizes the mobile phase by selecting the correct solvent, optimizing solvent polarity, and optimizing composition. Without prior knowledge of impurities and by simply observing the separation resolution between a radiopharmaceutical and its nearest radioactive or non-radioactive impurities (observed via UV imaging) for different mobile phases, the PRISMA method enabled the development of high-resolution separation conditions for a wide range of 18F-radiopharmaceuticals ( [18F]PBR-06, [18F]FEPPA, [18F]Fallypride, [18F]FPEB, and [18F]FDOPA). Each optimization required a single batch of crude radiopharmaceutical and a few hours. Interestingly, the optimized TLC method provided greater accuracy (compared to other published TLC methods) in determining the product abundance of one radiopharmaceutical studied in more depth ( [18F]Fallypride) and was capable of resolving a comparable number of species as isocratic radio-HPLC. We used the PRISMA-optimized mobile phase for [18F]FPEB in combination with multi-lane radio-TLC techniques to evaluate reaction performance during high-throughput synthesis optimization of [18F]FPEB. The PRISMA methodology, in combination with high-resolution radio-TLC readout, enables a rapid and systematic approach to achieving high-resolution and accurate analysis of radiopharmaceuticals without the need for radio-HPLC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Travis S Laferriere-Holloway
- Department of Molecular & Medical Pharmacology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), Los Angeles, CA, USA; Crump Institute for Molecular Imaging, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
| | - Alejandra Rios
- Physics and Biology in Medicine Interdepartmental Graduate Program, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Crump Institute for Molecular Imaging, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Yingqing Lu
- Physics and Biology in Medicine Interdepartmental Graduate Program, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Crump Institute for Molecular Imaging, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Chelsea C Okoro
- Institute for Society and Genetics, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Crump Institute for Molecular Imaging, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - R Michael van Dam
- Department of Molecular & Medical Pharmacology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), Los Angeles, CA, USA; Physics and Biology in Medicine Interdepartmental Graduate Program, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Crump Institute for Molecular Imaging, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
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Rios A, Holloway TS, Chao PH, De Caro C, Okoro CC, van Dam RM. Microliter-scale reaction arrays for economical high-throughput experimentation in radiochemistry. Sci Rep 2022; 12:10263. [PMID: 35715457 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-14022-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2021] [Accepted: 05/31/2022] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
The increasing number of positron-emission tomography (PET) tracers being developed to aid drug development and create new diagnostics has led to an increased need for radiosynthesis development and optimization. Current radiosynthesis instruments are designed to produce large-scale clinical batches and are often limited to performing a single synthesis before they must be decontaminated by waiting for radionuclide decay, followed by thorough cleaning or disposal of synthesizer components. Though with some radiosynthesizers it is possible to perform a few sequential radiosyntheses in a day, none allow for parallel radiosyntheses. Throughput of one or a few experiments per day is not well suited for rapid optimization experiments. To combat these limitations, we leverage the advantages of droplet-radiochemistry to create a new platform for high-throughput experimentation in radiochemistry. This system contains an array of 4 heaters, each used to heat a set of 16 reactions on a small chip, enabling 64 parallel reactions for the rapid optimization of conditions in any stage of a multi-step radiosynthesis process. As examples, we study the syntheses of several 18F-labeled radiopharmaceuticals ([18F]Flumazenil, [18F]PBR06, [18F]Fallypride, and [18F]FEPPA), performing > 800 experiments to explore the influence of parameters including base type, base amount, precursor amount, solvent, reaction temperature, and reaction time. The experiments were carried out within only 15 experiment days, and the small volume (~ 10 μL compared to the ~ 1 mL scale of conventional instruments) consumed ~ 100 × less precursor per datapoint. This new method paves the way for more comprehensive optimization studies in radiochemistry and substantially shortening PET tracer development timelines.
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Wang J, van Dam RM. Economical Production of Radiopharmaceuticals for Preclinical Imaging Using Microdroplet Radiochemistry. Methods Mol Biol 2022; 2393:813-828. [PMID: 34837213 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-1803-5_43] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
The short-lived radiolabeled "tracers" needed for performing whole body imaging in animals or patients with positron-emission tomography (PET) are generally produced via automated "radiosynthesizers". Most current radiosynthesizers are designed for routine production of relatively large clinical batches and are very wasteful when only a small batch of a tracer is needed, such as is the case for preclinical in vivo PET imaging studies. To overcome the prohibitively high cost of producing small batches of PET tracers, we developed a droplet microreactor system that performs radiochemistry at the 1-10μL scale instead of the milliliter scale of conventional technologies. The overall yield for the droplet-based production of many PET tracers is comparable to conventional approaches, but 10-100× less reagents are consumed, the synthesis can be completed in much less time (<30 min), and only a small laboratory footprint and minimal radiation shielding are needed. By combining these advantages, droplet microreactors enable the economical production of small batches PET tracers on demand. Here, we describe the fabrication method of the droplet microreactor and the droplet-based synthesis of an example radiotracer ([18F]fallypride).
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Affiliation(s)
- Jia Wang
- Crump Institute for Molecular Imaging, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Department of Molecular & Medical Pharmacology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Bioengineering Department, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - R Michael van Dam
- Crump Institute for Molecular Imaging, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
- Department of Molecular & Medical Pharmacology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
- Bioengineering Department, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
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Abstract
18F-fluorination is an important and growing field in organic synthesis that has attracted many chemists in the recent past. Here we present our own, biased perspective with a focus on our own chemistry that evaluates recent advances in the field and provides our opinion on the challenges for the development of new chemistry, so that it may have an impact on imaging. We hope that the manuscript will provide a useful guide to chemists to develop reliable and robust reaction chemistry suitable for radiofluorination to have a real impact on human health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Riya Halder
- Max-Planck-Institut
für Kohlenforschung, Kaiser-Wilhelm-Platz 1, 45470 Mülheim an der Ruhr, Germany
| | - Tobias Ritter
- Max-Planck-Institut
für Kohlenforschung, Kaiser-Wilhelm-Platz 1, 45470 Mülheim an der Ruhr, Germany
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Abstract
Over the past several years there has been an explosion of interest in exploiting Cerenkov radiation to enable in vivo and intraoperative optical imaging of subjects injected with trace amounts of radiopharmaceuticals. At the same time, Cerenkov luminescence imaging (CLI) also has been serving as a critical tool in radiochemistry, especially for the development of novel microfluidic devices for producing radiopharmaceuticals. By enabling microfluidic processes to be monitored non-destructively in situ, CLI has made it possible to literally watch the activity distribution as the synthesis occurs, and to quantitatively measure activity propagation and losses at each step of synthesis, paving the way for significant strides forward in performance and robustness of those devices. In some cases, CLI has enabled detection and resolution of unexpected problems not observable via standard optical methods. CLI is also being used in analytical radiochemistry to increase the reliability of radio-thin layer chromatography (radio-TLC) assays. Rapid and high-resolution Cerenkov imaging of radio-TLC plates enables detection of issues in the spotting or separation process, improves chromatographic resolution (and/or allows reduced separation distance and time), and enables increased throughput by allowing multiple samples to be spotted side-by-side on a single TLC plate for parallel separation and readout. In combination with new multi-reaction microfluidic chips, this is creating a new possibility for high-throughput optimization in radiochemistry. In this mini review, we provide an overview of the role that CLI has played to date in the radiochemistry side of radiopharmaceuticals.
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Affiliation(s)
- R. Michael van Dam
- UCLA Crump Institute for Molecular Imaging, Los Angeles, CA, United States
- UCLA Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Arion F. Chatziioannou
- UCLA Crump Institute for Molecular Imaging, Los Angeles, CA, United States
- UCLA Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, Los Angeles, CA, United States
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Lisova K, Wang J, Chao PH, van Dam RM. A simple and efficient automated microvolume radiosynthesis of [ 18F]Florbetaben. EJNMMI Radiopharm Chem 2020; 5:30. [PMID: 33275179 PMCID: PMC7718361 DOI: 10.1186/s41181-020-00113-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2020] [Accepted: 11/20/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Current automated radiosynthesizers are generally optimized for producing large batches of PET tracers. Preclinical imaging studies, however, often require only a small portion of a regular batch, which cannot be economically produced on a conventional synthesizer. Alternative approaches are desired to produce small to moderate batches to reduce cost and the amount of reagents and radioisotope needed to produce PET tracers with high molar activity. In this work we describe the first reported microvolume method for production of [18F]Florbetaben for use in imaging of Alzheimer's disease. PROCEDURES The microscale synthesis of [18F]Florbetaben was adapted from conventional-scale synthesis methods. Aqueous [18F]fluoride was azeotropically dried with K2CO3/K222 (275/383 nmol) complex prior to radiofluorination of the Boc-protected precursor (80 nmol) in 10 μL DMSO at 130 °C for 5 min. The resulting intermediate was deprotected with HCl at 90 °C for 3 min and recovered from the chip in aqueous acetonitrile solution. The crude product was purified via analytical scale HPLC and the collected fraction reformulated via solid-phase extraction using a miniature C18 cartridge. RESULTS Starting with 270 ± 100 MBq (n = 3) of [18F]Fluoride, the method affords formulated product with 49 ± 3% (decay-corrected) yield,> 98% radiochemical purity and a molar activity of 338 ± 55 GBq/μmol. The miniature C18 cartridge enables efficient elution with only 150 μL of ethanol which is diluted to a final volume of 1.0 mL, thus providing a sufficient concentration for in vivo imaging. The whole procedure can be completed in 55 min. CONCLUSIONS This work describes an efficient and reliable procedure to produce [18F]Florbetaben in quantities sufficient for large-scale preclinical applications. This method provides very high yields and molar activities compared to reported literature methods. This method can be applied to higher starting activities with special consideration given to automation and radiolysis prevention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ksenia Lisova
- Physics & Biology in Medicine Interdepartmental Graduate Program, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Crump Institute for Molecular Imaging, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Department of Molecular & Medical Pharmacology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Jia Wang
- Crump Institute for Molecular Imaging, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Department of Molecular & Medical Pharmacology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Philip H Chao
- Crump Institute for Molecular Imaging, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Department of Molecular & Medical Pharmacology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - R Michael van Dam
- Physics & Biology in Medicine Interdepartmental Graduate Program, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
- Crump Institute for Molecular Imaging, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
- Department of Molecular & Medical Pharmacology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
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Abstract
From an efficiency standpoint, microdroplet reactors enable significant improvements in the preparation of radiopharmaceuticals due to the vastly reduced reaction volume. To demonstrate these advantages, we adapt the conventional (macroscale) synthesis of the clinically-important positron-emission tomography tracer [18F]FDOPA, following the nucleophilic diaryliodonium salt approach, to a newly-developed ultra-compact microdroplet reaction platform. In this first microfluidic implementation of [18F]FDOPA synthesis, optimized via a high-throughput multi-reaction platform, the radiochemical yield (non-decay-corrected) was found to be comparable to macroscale reports, but the synthesis consumed significantly less precursor and organic solvents, and the synthesis process was much faster. In this initial report, we demonstrate the production of [18F]FDOPA in 15 MBq [400 μCi] amounts, sufficient for imaging of multiple mice, at high molar activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jia Wang
- Department of Bioengineering, Henry Samueli School of Engineering
- Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, David Geffen School of Medicine
- Crump Institute for Molecular Imaging, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Travis Holloway
- Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, David Geffen School of Medicine
- Crump Institute for Molecular Imaging, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Ksenia Lisova
- Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, David Geffen School of Medicine
- Physics in Biology and Medicine Interdepartmental Graduate Program, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Crump Institute for Molecular Imaging, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - R Michael van Dam
- Department of Bioengineering, Henry Samueli School of Engineering
- Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, David Geffen School of Medicine
- Physics in Biology and Medicine Interdepartmental Graduate Program, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Crump Institute for Molecular Imaging, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
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Wang J, van Dam RM. High-Efficiency Production of Radiopharmaceuticals via Droplet Radiochemistry: A Review of Recent Progress. Mol Imaging 2020; 19:1536012120973099. [PMID: 33296272 PMCID: PMC7731702 DOI: 10.1177/1536012120973099] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2020] [Revised: 09/02/2020] [Accepted: 10/12/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
New platforms are enabling radiochemistry to be carried out in tiny, microliter-scale volumes, and this capability has enormous benefits for the production of radiopharmaceuticals. These droplet-based technologies can achieve comparable or better yields compared to conventional methods, but with vastly reduced reagent consumption, shorter synthesis time, higher molar activity (even for low activity batches), faster purification, and ultra-compact system size. We review here the state of the art of this emerging direction, summarize the radiotracers and prosthetic groups that have been synthesized in droplet format, describe recent achievements in scaling up activity levels, and discuss advantages and limitations and the future outlook of these innovative devices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jia Wang
- Crump Institute for Molecular Imaging and Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - R. Michael van Dam
- Crump Institute for Molecular Imaging and Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
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