Microfluidic radiosynthesis of a radiolabeled compound using electrochemical trapping and release

Abstract

Methods and apparatus enable radiosynthesis of radiolabeled compounds using electrochemical trapping and release. The trapping and release of radioactive isotopes all occur inside a microreactor, a vial or similar device, thus eliminating the need for azeotropic drying and several dead-end filling steps, as well as the necessity to move concentrated radioisotopes from one compartment of the chip to another. These and other features allow radioisotope enrichment to be carried out internally within a radiochemical synthesis chip, providing faster and more robust operation, as well as producing very high radiochemical labeling yields.

Description

RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 60 / 950,976 filed Jul. 20, 2007, the contents of which is hereby incorporated in its entirety by reference.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]The present invention relates generally to microfluidic devices and related technologies. More specifically, the invention relates to methods and devices for microfluidic radiosynthesis of radiolabeled compounds.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]This section is intended to provide a background or context to the invention that is recited in the claims. The description herein may include concepts that could be pursued, but are not necessarily ones that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated herein, what is described in this section is not prior art to the description and claims in this application and is not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.[0004]Microfluidic devices have been used for the preparati...

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Benefits of technology

[0007]The present invention relates generally to microfluidic devices and related technologies. More specifically, embodiments of the present invention relate to trapping and release of radioactive isotopes inside a microreactor, a vial, a channel, or similar device, thus eliminating the need for azeotropic drying and several dead-end filling steps, as well as the necessity to move concentrated radioisotopes from one compartment of the device to another. In accordance with example embodiments of the present invention, radioisotope enrichment is carried out internally within a radiochemical synthesis chip, allowing faster and more robust operation. The disclosed methods and apparatus do not require an ion exchange column to trap the radioisotope, produce high radiochemical labeling yields, while providing significant increase in the device operational speed and reducing material stress, which results in prolonged device life. Non-exclusive examples of the radiolabeled compounds that may be prepared according to the process described herein include compounds selected from the group consisting of 2-deoxy-2-[18F] fluoro-D-glucose ([18F]FDG), 6-[18F] fluoro-L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine ([18F]FDOPA), 6-[18F] fluoro-L-meta-tyrosine ([18F]FMT), 9-[4-[18F] fluoro-3-(hydroxymethyl)butyl] guanine ([18F]FHBG), 9-[(3-[18F] fluoro-1-hydroxy-2-propoxy)methyl] guanine ([18F]FHPG), 3-(2′-[18F] fluoroethyl)spiperone ([18F]FESP), 3′-deoxy-3-[18F] fluorothymidine ([18F]FLT), 4-[18F] fluoro-N-[2-[1-(2-methoxyphenyl)-1-piperazinyl]ethyl]-N-2-pyridinyl-benzamide ([18F]p-MPPF), 2-(1-{6-[(2-[18F] fluoroethyl)(methyl)amino]-2-naphthyl}ethylidine)malononitrile ([18F]FDDNP), 2-[18F] fluoro-α-methyltyrosine, [18F] fluoromisonidazole ([18F]FMISO) and 5-[18F] fluoro-2′-deoxyuridine ([18F]FdUrd).

Problems solved by technology

The disclosed methods and apparatus do not require an ion exchange column to trap the radioisotope, produce high radiochemical labeling yields, while providing significant increase in the device operational speed and reducing material stress, which results in prolonged device life.

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