Exploiting the Gallium-Fluoride Bond in the Design of New Radiopharmaceuticals

Abstract

Positron emission tomography (PET) is a molecular imaging technique that produces three-dimensional images in high resolution and is used to assist in the diagnosis and monitoring of disease. The technique relies on molecules radiolabelled with a positron-emitting radionuclide called ‘tracers’ injected into patient at ‘trace’ concentrations. The most used radionuclide for PET is fluorine-18. Conventional approaches to fluorine-18 radiolabelling rely on the formation of a covalent C-18F bond and such synthetic chemistry can be challenging. It has been suggested that coordinate bond formation between Al3+/Ga3+ and F- may lead to complexes of sufficient stability due to the high metal fluoride ..