[11C]acetate and [11C]methionine: Improved syntheses and quality control

Two 11C-labeled radiopharmaceuticals which are routinely used in clinical PET procedures are [11C]acetate and [11C]methionine. In implementing published procedures for their synthesis, modifications of the procedures and chemistry were made to create a more rapid and reproducible production process for routine clinical application. We report simplified methods which allow a single apparatus to be used for all 11C syntheses which use methyl iodide, Grignard reagents, or acetone as labeled synthetic precursors. A reliable TLC quality control method for [11C]acetate is also reported.