PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Guillermo Casale
AU  - Yair Litman
AU  - Leandro Silva
AU  - Carlos Hormigo
AU  - Hector Gutierrez
AU  - Pablo Pace
TI  - Routine production of 18F-fluorcholine
DP  - 2013 May 01
TA  - Journal of Nuclear Medicine
PG  - 1165--1165
VI  - 54
IP  - supplement 2
4099  - http://jnm.snmjournals.org/content/54/supplement_2/1165.short
4100  - http://jnm.snmjournals.org/content/54/supplement_2/1165.full
SO  - J Nucl Med2013 May 01; 54
AB  - 1165 Objectives It has been demonstrated that 18F-fluorcholine is an important tracer radiopharmaceutical for brain, lung and prostate tumors. The PET-CT with 18F-fluorcholine is a useful and sensitive diagnostic tool with a high potential to evaluate the difference between local, regional or systemic recurrences. This allows deciding the correct treatment with a high impact in the management of the patient. Taking into account the approbation of this molecule in Germany and France, we undertook the project to provide this important radiopharmaceutical to the argentine market. Methods Whereas the published synthesis of this molecule with the Synthera(R) module requires the utilization of two modules in series, we show in this work a totally automatic synthesis using only one module. A commercial kit and an Integrated Fluid Processor (IFP) provided by ABX are used. The synthesis consists in two reactions of nucleophilic substitution. In the first place, the fluoride assisted by Kryptofix attacks the molecule of dibromoethane, obtaining bromofluormethane as a reaction intermediate, which afterwards is making to react with dimethylaminoethanol to obtain the 18F-fluorcholine. The purification is carried out with Sep-Paks cartridges. Results A mean yield of (32 +/- 4) per cent (mean +/- SD) (n = 33) was obtained with a maxium of 36,9% The synthesis takes 53 minutes. The residual solvent and main impurities content was below the limits established by USP 32th Ed. Conclusions This development allows carrying out a synthesis with a high yield and reproducibility, lowering its cost, which allows a routine production. The labeling of choline with 18F instead of 11C allows a successful application in satellite PETs. Research Support Laboratorios Bacon S.A.I.C.