Ultra-compact, automated microdroplet radiosynthesizer

Area of Science:

• Radiochemistry
• Microfluidics
• Positron Emission Tomography (PET) Imaging

Background:

• Microfluidics offers advantages for radiochemistry, reducing costs and precursor requirements for PET radiotracer production.
• Existing droplet-based microfluidic platforms for radiosynthesis have drawbacks like complexity, manual intervention, and control issues.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a simple, compact, and cost-effective microfluidic platform for radiosynthesis.
• To demonstrate the platform's capability for efficient and reproducible radiotracer synthesis.

Main Methods:

• A novel microfluidic chip design utilizing a hydrophilic liquid trap on a hydrophobic substrate.
• Integration of simple supporting hardware including a heater and reagent dispensers.
• Demonstration of [18F]fallypride synthesis and protocol translation from a high-throughput optimization platform.

Main Results:

• Consistent synthesis of [18F]fallypride with high yield was achieved.
• The platform is compact, comparable in size to a coffee cup, and requires minimal precursor quantities.
• Optimized protocols were directly transferable to the new device without re-optimization.

Conclusions:

• The developed microfluidic platform offers a simplified and efficient approach to radiotracer production.
• This technology has the potential for routine production of 18F-labeled tracers for preclinical and clinical applications.
• Future work includes integration with radionuclide concentrators for producing clinically relevant amounts of tracers.