The automatic production of 16alpha-[18F]fluoroestradiol using a conventional [18F]FDG module with a disposable cassette system.

We have developed a fully automatic method for the synthesis of 16alpha-[18F]fluoroestradiol ([18F]FES) using a disposable cassette system and conventional [18F]FDG module. [18F]FES was synthesized using a GE TracerLab MX module and a modified module control program. Following [18F]fluorination, we hydrolyzed the product three times with a mixture of 2N HCl and CH(3)CN. After HPLC purification, the decay corrected radiochemical yield of [18F]FES was 45.3+/-2.8%, which was stable to 98.2+/-0.2% at 6h after synthesis. This new automated synthesis method provides high and reproducible yields with the advantage of a disposable cassette system.