Radiochemistry on chip : towards dose-on-demand synthesis of PET radiopharmaceuticals

We have developed an integrated microfluidic platform for producing 2-[18F]-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (18F-FDG) in continuous flow from a single bolus of radioactive isotope solution, with constant product yields achieved throughout the operation that were comparable to those reported for commercially available vessel-based synthesisers (40–80%). The system would allow researchers to obtain radiopharmaceuticals in a dose-on-demand setting within a few minutes. The flexible architecture of the platform, based on a modular design, can potentially be applied to the synthesis of other radiotracers that require a two-step synthetic approach, and may be adaptable to more complex synthetic routes by implementing additional modules. It can therefore be employed for standard synthesis protocols as well as for research and development of new radiopharmaceuticals.