Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 16, 2026
Optimization of Radiochemical Reactions using Droplet Arrays
Published on: February 12, 2021
Design and optimization of coin-shaped microreactor chips for PET radiopharmaceutical synthesis
Arkadij M Elizarov1, R Michael van Dam, Young Shik Shin
1Siemens Molecular Imaging, Biomarker Research, Culver City, California 90230, USA. arkadij.elizarov@siemens.com
Unlabelled:
An integrated elastomeric microfluidic device, with a footprint the size of a postage stamp, has been designed and optimized for multistep radiosynthesis of PET tracers.
Methods:
The unique architecture of the device is centered around a 5-microL coin-shaped reactor, which yields reaction efficiency and speed from a combination of high reagent concentration, pressurized reactions, and rapid heat and mass transfer. Its novel features facilitate mixing, solvent exchange, and product collection. New mixing mechanisms assisted by vacuum, pressure, and chemical reactions are exploited.
Results:
The architecture of the reported reactor is the first that has allowed batch-mode microfluidic devices to produce radiopharmaceuticals of sufficient quality and quantity to be validated by in vivo imaging.
Conclusion:
The reactor has the potential to produce multiple human doses of (18)F-FDG; the most impact, however, is expected in the synthesis of PET radiopharmaceuticals that can be made only with low yields by currently available equipment.
