Radiosynthesis of 11-[(18) F]fluoroundecyltriphenylphosphonium (MitoF) as a potential mitochondria-specific positron emission tomography radiotracer.

Changes in the magnitude of the mitochondrial membrane potential occur in a range of important pathologies. To assess changes in membrane potential in patients, we set out to develop an improved mitochondria-targeted positron emission tomography probe comprising a lipophilic triphenylphosphonium cation attached to a fluorine-18 radionuclide via an 11-carbon alkyl chain, which is well-established to effectively transport to and localise within mitochondria. Here, we describe the radiosynthesis of this probe, 11-[(18) F]fluoroundecyl-triphenylphosphonium (MitoF), from no-carrier-added [(18) F]fluoride and a fully automated synthetic protocol to prepare it in good radiochemical yields (2-3 GBq at end-of-synthesis) and radiochemical purity (97-99%).