Fully automated preparation of n.c.a. 4-[¹⁸F]fluorobenzoic acid and N-succinimidyl 4-[¹⁸F]fluorobenzoate using a Siemens/CTI chemistry process control unit (CPCU)

The widely used bifunctional labeling reagent 4-[¹⁸F]fluorobenzoic acid ([¹⁸F]FBA) and its activated form N-succinimidyl 4-[¹⁸F]fluorobenzoate ([¹⁸F]SFB) were prepared using a modified Siemens/CTI chemistry process control unit (CPCU) double vessel [¹⁸F]FDG module. The products were obtained with a radiochemical yield greater than 99% with decay corrected yields of 77±5% (n=4) for [¹⁸F]FBA and 46±5% (n=4) for [¹⁸F]SFB. The presented synthetic procedure is highly reproducible and fully automated.