Automated radiosynthesis of [¹⁸F]ciprofloxacin

We transferred the previously published manual synthesis of [¹⁸F]ciprofloxacin (decay-corrected RCY: 5.5±1.0%) to an automated synthesis module (TRACERlab^TM FX_FDG, GE Healthcare) and observed a strong decrease in RCY (0.4±0.4%). When replacing the standard 15-mL glassy carbon reactor of the synthesis module with a 3-mL V-shaped borosilicate glass reactor a considerable improvement in RCY was observed. [¹⁸F]Ciprofloxacin was obtained in a RCY of 2.7±1.4% (n=23) with a specific activity at EOS of 1.4±0.5 GBq/µmol in a synthesis time of 160 min. - Highlights: • Automated synthesis of [¹⁸F]ciprofloxacin in a TRACERlab^TM FX_FDG (GE Healthcare) synthesis module was developed. • Dependence of radiochemical yield on reactor type was observed. • 3-mL V-shaped borosilicate glass reactor gave higher radiochemical yield as compared with standard 15-mL glassy carbon reactor. • V-shaped borosilicate glass reactor might also give higher radiochemical yield for other [¹⁸F]radiotracers than [¹⁸F]ciprofloxacin