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

We have developed a fully automatic method for the synthesis of 16α-[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 2 N HCl and CH3CN. 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 6 h after synthesis. This new automated synthesis method provides high and reproducible yields with the advantage of a disposable cassette system.