Radiosynthesis of [18F]3-acetylcyclofoxy: a high affinity opiate antagonist

A convenient method for the preparation of high specific activity [18F]3-acetylcyclofoxy (3-acetyl-6-deoxy-6-beta-18F-fluoronaltrexone) was developed. The method utilizes reactor-produced [18F]-fluoride as its tetraethylammonium (TEA X F) salt in a SN2 displacement on a secondary triflate precursor. Typically, 45% of the 18F activity can be converted to the reactive TEAF in a 70 min preparation. From this, 35% yield (decay corrected) of the [18F]3-acetylcyclofoxy was obtained after HPLC purification with a specific activity of 25 Ci/mmol in a total synthesis time of 60 min.