Aim: To develop a simplified and fully automated synthesis procedure of 3'-deoxy-3'-[(18)F]fluorothymidine ([(18)F]FLT) using PET-MF-2V-IT-I synthesis module.
Methods: Synthesis of [(18)F]FLT was performed using PET-MF-2V-IT-I synthesis module by one-pot two-step reaction procedure, including nucleophilic fluorination of 3-N-t-butoxycarbonyl-1-[5'-O-(4,4'-dimethoxy triphenylmethyl)-2'-deoxy-3'-O-(4-nitrobenzenesulfonyl)-beta-d-threopentofuranosyl]thymine (15mg) as the precursor molecule with [(18)F]fluoride, and subsequent hydrolysis of the protecting group with 1.0M HCl at the same reaction vessel and purification with SEP PAK cartridges instead of the HPLC system.
Results: The automated synthesis of [(18)F]FLT with SEP PAK purification gave corrected radiochemical yield of 23.2+/-2.6% (n=6, uncorrected yield: 16-22%) and radiochemical purity of >97% within the total synthesis time of 35min.
Conclusion: The fully one-pot automated synthesis procedure with SEP PAK purification can be applied to the fully automated synthesis of [(18)F]FLT using commercial [(18)F]FDG synthesis module.