Asymmetric synthesis of 6-18F-L-FDOPA using chiral Nickel(II) complexes

Abstract

A new procedure was suggested for asymmetric synthesis of of 6-[18F]fluoro-3,4-L-dihydroxyphenylalanine (6-18F-L-FDOPA), an important radiotracer for studies of the dopaminergic system by positron emission tomography (PET). The key step of the synthesis is stochiometric asymmetric alkylation of chiral Ni(II) complexes using 3,4-methylenedioxy-6-[18F]fluorobenzyl bromide as alkylating agent. A series of Ni(II) complexes containing various substituents in the benzyl group were tested. The highest enantiomeric purity of 6-18F-L-FDOPA was attained with the complex derived from (S)-N-(2-benzoylphenyl)-1-(3,4-dichlorobenzyl)-pyrrolidine-2-carboxamide, Ni-DCBPB-Gly, under mild alkylation conditions (CH2Cl2, 40°C, potassium tert-butylate as base). Such conditions are favorable from the viewpoint of synthesis automation. The radiochemical yield of 6-18F-L-FDOPA corrected for the radioactive decay was 10–15% at a synthesis time of 120 min, including purification by semipreparative HPLC. The radiochemical and chemical purity of the product exceeded 99%, and the enantiomeric purity was as high as 95%, meeting the requirements for using 6-18F-L-FDOPA in PET practice.