Abstract:
To develop an automatic and efficient synthesis of
11C-
β-CFT as a dopamine transporter imaging agent for clinical use,
11C-
β-CFT was prepared from
11C-Triflate-CH
3 by methylation with nor-β-CFT,and then purified by a C-18 Sep-Pak. Fully automated radiosynthesis of
11C-
β-CFT was carried out. The corrected radiochemical yield of
11C-
β-CFT was 70.2%±1.8% from
11CH
3I or
11CH
3Br, and the radiochemical purity was above 95%. PET imaging was performed on healthy volunteers and patients with Parkinson’s Disease (PD). PET imaging showed high radioactivity uptake of
11C-
β-CFT in the bilateral striatums symmetrically for the healthy volunteers, but lower radioactivity uptake in the bilateral striatums asymmetrically for the PD patients. This simple automated synthesis of
11C-
β-CFT is efficient with high yields, helpful with the radiation protection of personnel, and satisfactory to clinical applications.