Fully automated synthesis of O-(2′-[18F]fluoroethyl)-l-tyrosine ([18F]FET) using solid phase extraction (SPE) purification with neutral alumina

Economical droplet-based microfluidic production of [18F]FET and [18F]Florbetaben suitable for human use

Current equipment and methods for preparation of radiopharmaceuticals for positron emission tomography (PET) are expensive and best suited for large-scale multi-doses batches. Microfluidic radiosynthesizers have been shown to provide an economic approach to synthesize these compounds in smaller quantities, but can also be scaled to clinically-relevant levels. Batch microfluidic approaches, in particular, offer significant reduction in system size and reagent consumption. Here we show a simple and rapid technique to concentrate the radioisotope, prior to synthesis in a droplet-based radiosynthesizer, enabling production of clinically-relevant batches of [18F]FET and [18F]FBB. The synthesis was carried out with an automated synthesizer platform based on a disposable Teflon-silicon surface-tension trap chip. Up to 0.1 mL (4 GBq) of radioactivity was used per synthesis by drying cyclotron-produced aqueous [18F]fluoride in small increments directly inside the reaction site. Precursor solution (10 µL) was added to the dried [18F]fluoride, the reaction chip was heated for 5 min to perform radiofluorination, and then a deprotection step was performed with addition of acid solution and heating. The product was recovered in 80 µL volume and transferred to analytical HPLC for purification. Purified product was formulated via evaporation and resuspension or a micro-SPE formulation system. Quality control testing was performed on 3 sequential batches of each tracer. The method afforded production of up to 0.8 GBq of [18F]FET and [18F]FBB. Each production was completed within an hour. All batches passed quality control testing, confirming suitability for human use. In summary, we present a simple and efficient synthesis of clinically-relevant batches of [18F]FET and [18F]FBB using a microfluidic radiosynthesizer. This work demonstrates that the droplet-based micro-radiosynthesizer has a potential for batch-on-demand synthesis of 18F-labeled radiopharmaceuticals for human use.

Current trends in the use of O-(2-[18F]fluoroethyl)-L-tyrosine ([18F]FET) in neurooncology

The diagnostic potential of PET using the amino acid analogue O-(2-[¹⁸F]fluoroethyl)-L-tyrosine ([¹⁸F]FET) in brain tumor diagnostics has been proven in many studies during the last two decades and is still the subject of multiple studies every year. In addition to standard magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography (PET) using [¹⁸F]FET provides important diagnostic data concerning brain tumor delineation, therapy planning, treatment monitoring, and improved differentiation between treatment-related changes and tumor recurrence. The pharmacokinetics, uptake mechanisms and metabolism have been well described in various preclinical studies. The accumulation of [¹⁸F]FET in most benign lesions and healthy brain tissue has been shown to be low, thus providing a high contrast between tumor tissue and benign tissue alterations. Based on logistic advantages of F-18 labelling and convincing clinical results, [¹⁸F]FET has widely replaced short lived amino acid tracers such as L-[¹¹C]methyl-methionine ([¹¹C]MET) in many centers across Western Europe. This review summarizes the basic knowledge on [¹⁸F]FET and its contribution to the care of patients with brain tumors. In particular, recent studies about specificity, possible pitfalls, and the utility of [¹⁸F]FET PET in tumor grading and prognostication regarding the revised WHO classification of brain tumors are addressed.

Facile fully automated radiosynthesis and quality control of O-(2-[18F]fluoroethyl)-l-tyrosine ([18F]FET) for human brain tumor imaging

O-(2-[¹⁸F]Fluoroethyl)-_l-tyrosine ([¹⁸F]FET) has become one of the most successful amino acid tracers for human brain tumor imaging with positron emission tomography (PET). Facile fully automated radiosynthesis and quality control (QC) of [¹⁸F]FET using our home-built automated multi-purpose ¹⁸F-radiosynthesis module are described. [¹⁸F]FET was produced in 75-80 min overall synthesis time with 20-25% radiochemical yield decay corrected to end of bombardment (EOB), based on H[¹⁸F]F. The radiochemical and enantiomeric purities were >99%, and the molar activity (A_m) was 189-411 GBq/μmol at EOB. The [¹⁸F]FET dose meets all QC criteria for clinical use, and is suitable for clinical PET study of brain tumor.

Evaluation of a mixed anionic-nonionic surfactant modified eggshell membrane as an advantageous adsorbent for the solid-phase extraction of Sudan I-IV as model analytes

The coadsorption of mixed anionic-nonionic surfactants, sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate with Triton X-100, on the surface of eggshell membrane was investigated based on adsorption isotherms to improve the solid-phase extraction performance of eggshell membrane toward organic contaminants. Results showed that even though excess Triton X-100 might inhibit the adsorption of sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate, a low dosage of Triton X-100 can significantly improve sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate modification and enhance the extraction efficiency of eggshell membrane from 73.7 to 100.4% because of the formation of mixed hemimicelles. The highest recovery was achieved at 2:8 (Triton X-100/sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate mass ratios), and multiple mechanisms involving π-π interactions, hydrophobic effect, and π-π electron donor-acceptor interactions contributed to the strong extraction affinity. When mixed, the Triton X-100 and sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate modified eggshell membrane packed cartridge coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography was applied for the simultaneous determination of trace Sudan I-IV, and low detection limits (0.16-0.26 ng/L) were achieved with satisfactory linearity (R²  > 0.999) in 10-10 000 μg/L. For real samples, Sudan II and III in one chilli sauce sample were found at 4.3 and 1.7 μg/kg. Sudan I-IV recoveries at three spiked levels were 87.4-102.9% with precisions <6.8%. Comparison with commonly used solid-phase extraction adsorbents and methods further reflected the superiorities of the proposed adsorbent in sensitivity, retention ability, and applicability.