Palladium(ii)-mediated rapid 11C-cyanation of (hetero)arylborons.

A palladium(ii)-mediated rapid 11C-cyanation of (hetero)arylborons with [11C]NH4CN/NH3 has been developed using bench-stable and readily available reagents. The method showed excellent functional-group tolerance, and allowed the highly efficient synthesis of a wide range of [11C]cyanoarenes, including PET tracers for aromatase imaging. A mechanistic study of the 11C-cyanation suggests the instantaneous formation of a mono[11C]cyanopalladium(ii) complex that reacts smoothly with arylborons.