We report a simple system for producing [15O]H2O from nitrogen-15 in a nitrogen/hydrogen gas target with recycling of the target nitrogen, allowing production on low-energy proton-only accelerators with minimal consumption of isotopically enriched nitrogen-15. The radiolabeled water is separated from the target gas and radiolytically produced ammonia by temporary freezing in a small trap at -40oC.

BEARS is an ongoing project to provide a light-ion radioactive-beam capability at the 88-Inch Cyclotron at LBNL. Light radioactive isotopes are produced at a 10 MeV proton medical cyclotron, transported 350 m via a high-speed gas transport capillary, cryogenically separated, and injected into the 88-Inch Cyclotron's ion source. The first radioactive beam successfully accelerated was Carbon-11 and beams of intensity more than 108 ions/sec have been utilized for experiments. Development of Oxygen-14 as the second BEARS beam presented considerable technical challenges, both due to its short half-life of 71 seconds and the radiation chemistry of oxygen in the target. The usual techniques developed for medical uses of Oxygen-15 involve the addition of significant amounts of carrier oxygen, something that would overload the ion source. As a solution, Oxygen-14 is produced as water in a carrier-free form, and is chemically converted in two steps to carbon dioxide, a form readily usable by the BEARS. This system has been built and is operational, and initial tests of accelerating an Oxygen-14 beam have been performed.

For the electrophilic preparation of 6-[18F]-Fluoro-L-m-tyrosine (FMT), a PET tracer for measuring changes in dopaminergic function in movement disorders, a novel precursor, N-(tert-butoxycarbonyl)-3-(tert-butoxycarbonyloxy)-6-trimethylstannnyl-L-phenylalanine ethyl ester, was synthesized in four steps and 26 percent yield starting from L-m-tyrosine. FMT produced by two methods at two institutions was comparable in decay corrected yield, 25-26 percent, and quality (chemical, enantiomeric, and radiochemical purity and specific activity) as that obtained with the original N-trifluoroacetyl-3-acetyl-6-trimethylstannyl-L-m-tyrosine ethyl ester FMT precursor.

Acrylamido-quinazolines substituted at the 6-position bind irreversibly to the intracellular ATP binding domain of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). A general route was developed for preparing 6-substituted-4-anilinoquinazolines from [18F]fluoroanilines for evaluation as EGFR targeting agents with PET. By a cyclization reaction, 2-[18F]fluoroaniline was reacted with N'-(2-cyano-4-nitrophenyl)-N,N-dimethylimidoformamide to produce 6-nitro-4-(2-[18F]fluoroanilino)quinazoline in 27.5 percent decay-corrected radiochemical yield. Acid mediated tin chloride reduction of the nitro group was achieved in 5 min (80 percent conversion) and subsequent acylation with acrylic acid gave 6-acrylamido-4-(2-[18F]fluoroanilino)quinazoline in 8.5 percent decay-corrected radiochemical yield, from starting fluoride, in less than 2 hours.

The goal of this investigation was to assess the accuracy of 18F-fluorodihydrorotenone (18F-FDHR) as a new deposited myocardial flow tracer and compare the results to those for 201Tl. Methods. The kinetics of these flow tracers were evaluated in 22 isolated, erythrocyte- and albumin-perfused rabbit hearts over a flow range encountered in patients. The two flow tracers plus a vascular reference tracer (131I-albumin) were introduced as a bolus through a port just above the aortic cannula. Myocardial extraction, retention, washout, and uptake parameters were computed from the venous outflow curves using the multiple indicator dilution technique and spectral analysis. Results. The mean initial extraction fractions of 18F-FDHR (0.85 +- 0.07) and 201Tl (0.87 +- 0.05) were not significantly different, although the initial extraction fraction for 18F-FDHR declined with flow (P < 0.0001), whereas the initial extraction fraction of 201Tl did not. Washout of 201Tl was faster (P < 0.001) and more affected by flow (P < 0.05) than 18F-FDHR washout. Except for initial extraction fraction, 18F-FDHR retention was greater (P < 0.001) and less affected by flow (P < 0.05) than 201Tl retention. Reflecting its superior retention, net uptake of 18F-FDHR was better correlated with flow than 201Tl uptake at both one and fifteen minutes after tracer introduction (P < 0.0001 for both comparisons). Conclusion. The superior correlation of 18F-FDHR uptake with flow indicates that it is a better flow tracer than 201Tl in the isolated rabbit heart. Compared to the other currently available positron-emitting flow tracers (82Rb, 13N-ammonia, and 15O-water), 18F-FDHR has the potential of providing excellent image resolution without the need for an on-site cyclotron.