In Vivo Biodistribution of No-Carrier-Added 6-¹⁸F-Fluoro-3,4-Dihydroxy-l-Phenylalanine (¹⁸F-DOPA), Produced by a New Nucleophilic Substitution Approach, Compared with Carrier-Added ¹⁸F-DOPA, Prepared by Conventional Electrophilic Substitution

Abstract

The advantages of the novel synthesis of (18)F-DOPA, which relies on nucleophilic fluorination of a diaryliodonium salt precursor, lie in the simplicity of the synthesis method, compared with the conventional, electrophilic approach and in the reduced mass of administered, pharmacologically active (19)F-DOPA. (18)F-DOPA-H demonstrated comparable imaging properties in an in vivo model for neuroendocrine tumors, despite the fact that the injected mass of material was 3 orders of magnitude less than (18)F-DOPA-L.