Microfluidic continuous-flow radiosynthesis of [18F]FPEB suitable for human PET imaging

The synthesis of fluorine-18 labeled 3-fluoro-5-[(pyridin-3-yl) ethynyl] benzonitrile ([F-18] FPEB) for imaging metabotropic glutamate receptor subtype type 5 (mGluR5) was achieved with a commercial continuousflow microfluidics device. This work represents the first positron emission tomography (PET) radiopharmaceutical that is suitable for human use with this technology. We also describe a validated synthesis of [18F] FPEB with a commercial reactor-based system.