Radiochemistry on electrodes: Synthesis of an 18F-labelled and in vivo stable COX-2 inhibitor

New radiochemistry techniques can yield novel PET tracers for COX-2 and address the shortcomings in in vivo stability and specificity, which have held back clinical translation of tracers to image COX-2 expression. Current techniques limit radiosynthesis to analogs of the COX-2 inhibitors with fluorine-18 added via a carbon chain, or on an aromatic position which renders the radiolabeled analog less specific towards COX-2, resulting in tracers …