Radiofluorination with reactor-produced Cesium [18F]fluoride: No-carrier-added [18F]2-fluoronicotine and [18F]6-fluoronicotine

We have synthesised no-carrier-added [18F]2-fluoronicotine by the halogen-exchange reaction of reactor-produced Cs18F upon 2-bromonicotine in refluxing DMSO. No special drying of the Cs18F was required. [18F]2-Fluoronicotine was isolated by reversed-phase HPLC and production of 220 MBq (6 mCi) ready for injection represented a decay-corrected radiochemical yield of 23% and required 3.5 h from end-of-bombardment. Similarly, [18F]6-fluoronicotine was prepared from 6-bromonicotine in amounts of 80 MBq (2.2 mCi) or 8% yield. These quantities are sufficient for studies in humans.