Fully Automated Radiosynthesis of No-Carrier-Added [¹¹C]Butanol Using the GE FASTLab 2 Module

Radiolabeled alcohols have been investigated for their use in the measurement of cerebral blood flow for years. In particular, [¹¹C]butanol has been employed as a freely diffusible tracer with appreciable tissue retention and good solubility in both lipid and aqueous compartments. It is an appropriate radiotracer for the assessment of blood supply and for the comparative evaluation of substrate utilization with blood flow. Herein, we describe a no-carrier-added [¹¹C]butanol radiosynthesis using the GE FASTLab 2 to leverage the benefits of a cassette-based workflow, and we compare it to our legacy radiosynthesis using GE TracerLab FX modules. Using the FASTLab 2, [¹¹C]butanol was synthesized in 21 min with a radiochemical yield of 4%-8% (n = 3) and a radiochemical purity of > 90%. Synthesis on the FASTLab was fast, reliable, and comparable to syntheses using TracerLab FX modules.