Automated production of [¹⁸F]VAT suitable for clinical PET study of vesicular acetylcholine transporter

Automated production of a promising radiopharmaceutical (−)−(1−(8−(2−[¹⁸F]fluoroethoxy) -3-hydroxy-1,2,3,4-tetrahydronaphthalen-2-yl)-piperidin-4-yl) (4-fluorophenyl) methanone ([¹⁸F]VAT) for the vesicular acetylcholine transporter(VAChT) was achieved using a two-step procedure in a current Good Manufacturing Practices fashion. The production of [¹⁸F]VAT was accomplished in approximately 140 min, with radiochemical yield of ~15.0% (decay corrected), specific activity>111 GBq/µmol, radiochemical purity>99% and mass of VAT ~3.4 μg/batch (n>10). The radiopharmaceutical product meets all quality control criteria for human use, and is suitable for clinical PET studies of VAChT. - Highlights: • Automated production of a novel PET tracer [¹⁸F]VAT for VAChT was established using a two-step procedure. • [¹⁸F]VAT were synthesized with high radiochemical yield, good reproducibility and high product quality. • The radiopharmaceutical product of [¹⁸F]VAT is suitable for clinical PET studies.