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Updated: Jul 11, 2025

Enhancing Efficiency and Radiolabeling Yields of Carbon-11 Radioligands for Clinical Research Using the Loop Method
Published on: December 20, 2024
Photocatalyzed radiosynthesis of 11C-phenylacetic acids
Maxime Munch1,2, Braeden A Mair2,3, Myriam Adi2,3
1Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Abstract:
Fast and straightforward incorporation of radionuclides into pharmaceutically relevant molecules is one of the main barriers to preclinical and clinical tracer research. Late-stage direct incorporation of cyclotron-produced [11C]CO2 to afford carbon-11-labeled radiopharmaceuticals has the potential to provide ready-to-inject positron emission tomography agents in less than an hour. The present work describes photocatalyzed carboxylation of alkylbenzene derivatives to afford 11C-phenylacetic acids. Reaction conditions and scope are investigated followed by application of this methodology to the preparative radiosynthesis of [11C]fenoprofen, a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug.
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