Safety-catch linker strategies for the production of radiopharmaceuticals labeled with positron-emitting isotopes.

A novel synthetic stratetegy for compounds labeled with the positron-emitting isotope carbon-11 is described. The use of precursors attached to a solid support via safety-catch linkers allows selective release of radiolabeled material, leaving unreacted precursor attached to the support. Two different linkers demonstrate the application to the preparation of radiolabeled N-alkyl tertiary amines and N-alkylsulfonamides. This technique is expected to lead to more widespread use of positron emission tomography for the in vivo analysis of compound behavior.