Fully automated synthesis of O-(3-[18F]fluoropropyl)-L-tyrosine by direct nucleophilic exchange on a quaternary 4-aminopyridinium resin.

A fully automated synthesis of O-(3-[18F]fluoropropyl)-L-tyrosine (FPT), an amino acid tracer for tumor imaging with positron emission tomography, is described. FPT was prepared by a two-step reaction sequence. Direct nucleophilic fluorination substitution of [18F]fluoride with 1,3-di(4-methylphenylsulfonyloxy)propane on a quaternary 4-(4-methylpiperidinyl)pyridinium functionalized polystyrene anion exchange resin, followed by [18F]fluoro-1-(4-methylphenylsulfonyloxy)propane yielded FPT. The overall radiochemical yield with no decay correction was about 12%; the whole synthesis time was about 52 min, and the radiochemical purity was above 95%.