Tracers / [18F]FDOPA
[18F]FDOPA
Also written as 6-[18F]fluoro-L-DOPA; [18F]dihydroxyphenylalanine; [18F]F-DOPA; [18F]FDOPA; [18F]Fluoro-DOPA; [18F]Fluoro-L-DOPA; [18F]fluorodopa
- Radionuclide
- F-18 t½ 109.7 min
- Modality
- PET
- Production route
- Cyclotron liquid target
- Stage
- Approved
- Syntheses indexed
- 49
What it is
- Compound class
- Amino acid
- Target / mechanism
- System L (LAT1) amino-acid transport into cells; for dopaminergic imaging, subsequent decarboxylation by aromatic-L-amino-acid decarboxylase (AADC) PMID 30519867 / DOI 10.1007/s00259-018-4207-9; PMID 39384519 / DOI 10.1053/j.semnuclmed.2024.09.004
- Clinical application
- Parkinsonian syndromes; neuroendocrine tumours; congenital hyperinsulinism; glioma PMID 39384519 / DOI 10.1053/j.semnuclmed.2024.09.004
- Theranostic pair
- —
Regulatory status
- FDA
- Yes — 2019; Fluorodopa F 18; The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research; NDA 200655 Drugs@FDA, NDA 200655, approved 2019-10-10 — https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cder/daf/index.cfm?event=BasicSearch.process&searchTerm=fluorodopa
- EMA (centralised)
- No EMA medicines register — no centrally authorised medicine containing fluorodopa (18F); search: https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/medicines?search_api_fulltext=fluorodopa
- Other approvals
- Not centrally authorised by EMA, but holds national marketing authorisations in multiple EU/EEA member states (national / decentralised / mutual-recognition procedures). Example (official national register): France — IASOdopa, fluorodopa (18F), marketing authorisation active since 16/11/2006, holder Curium Austria GmbH.
- Brand names
- Fluorodopa F 18 (US)
Clinical use
- Typical injected activity
- 185-200 MBq PMID 30519867 / DOI 10.1007/s00259-018-4207-9 (Joint EANM/EANO/RANO/SNMMI practice guideline for PET imaging of gliomas with radiolabelled amino acids and FDG, v1.0 -- 'Administered activity in adults' table)
- Uptake time
- 10-30 min post-injection for brain-tumour imaging (EANM/EANO/RANO glioma guideline) PMID 30519867 / DOI 10.1007/s00259-018-4207-9
Reported in the literature. Not a dosing recommendation.
Published syntheses
| Module | Cassette | Purification | Yield % | RCP % | Precursor / supplier | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Neptis Perform ORA | vendor cassette | HPLC | 9.60% ± 3.61% yes | >95% | — | 41437980 2025 Front Nucl Med [18F]FDOPA was produced routinely via automated nucleophilic synthesis using the NEPTIS® Perform synthesizer module (ORA, Belgium) equipped with a commercially available cassette-based chemistry setup (ABX, Germany). — The decay corrected yield of [18F]FDOPA (n = 26) were 9.60% ± 3.61%. |
| TRACERlab FX N Pro GE HealthCare | custom manifold | HPLC+SPE | 5.2 ± 0.5% no | >99% | 3,4-OMOM-6-(BPin)DOPA(Boc)2-OtBu (8) WuXi AppTec | 39064920 2024 Molecules these conditions were translated to the commercially available automated synthesis module TRACERlab FX N Pro (GE Healthcare) — The radiotracer was obtained with an activity yield (AY; isolated, not decay-corrected) of 5.2 ± 0.5% (n = 3) |
| In-house / custom built in-house | custom manifold | HPLC+SPE | — | — | 3,4-OMOM-6-(BPin)DOPA(Boc)2-OtBu (8) WuXi AppTec | 39064920 2024 Molecules Radiosynthesis was performed on...remote-controlled apparatus (in-house development) |
| Manual synthesis | custom manifold | HPLC | 30±3 | — | Boc2-6-Me3Sn-DOPA(MOM)2-OMe | 36214204 2023 Chemistry Optimized procedure for radiofluorination of stannyl precursors: [18F]F− was loaded onto a QMA carbonate cartridge — Subsequent deprotection and HPLC isolation delivered the desired tracer in good AYs of 30±3 %. |
| Raytest SynChrom Elysia-Raytest | custom manifold | HPLC+SPE | 15% | ≥97% | ABX 1336, (S)-3-(5-Formyl-4-methoxymethoxy-2-nitro-phenyl)-2-(trityl-amino)-propionic acid tert-butyl ester ABX | 36678506 2022 Pharmaceuticals (Basel) The synthesis and its modifications were carried out using a Raytest Synchrom R&D module. — with a radiochemical yield (RCY) of 15%, radiochemical purity (RCP) ≥ 97%, and enantiomeric purity (ee) ≥ 96%. |
| Neptis (model not stated) | — | SPE | 11.8 ± 3.2% yes | >95% | ABX nitro precursor | 35607634 2022 Nucl Med Mol Imaging NEPTIS module and a commercially available cassette based chemistry — The decay uncorrected yield were 5.5 ± 1.5% (n = 33) which corresponds to a decay corrected yield of 11.8 ± 3.2% (n = 33). |
| FASTlab 2 | — | SPE | 9.3-9.8% no | >99.9% | — | 34513282 2021 Am J Nucl Med Mol Imaging using a GE Fastlab 2 module — The uncorrected radiochemical yields of [18F]FDOPA were 9.3-9.8% with a total synthesis time of ~140 min. |
| — | — | — | 31 ± 3% | — | — | 34018059 2021 EJNMMI Radiopharm Chem |
| AllinOne (AiO) Trasis | vendor cassette | HPLC | > 35% | — | nitroveratraldehyde 11 | 33689056 2021 EJNMMI Radiopharm Chem The process was performed in a Trasis (Ans, Belgium) AllInOne automatic synthesis module cassette-based and provides 6-[18F]FDOPA with reproducible results — yielding 6-[18F]FDOPA with RCYs > 35%, Am 129,5 Gbq/μmol and ee of 97% |
| TRACERlab MX GE HealthCare | — | SPE | — | > 95% | — | 33689056 2021 EJNMMI Radiopharm Chem The nucleophilic based method was firstly implemented in 2013 by Martin et al. to a GE (Chicago, Illinois, United States) TRACERlab MXFDG automated module |
| IBA IFP IBA | vendor cassette | SPE | 20 ± 5% | — | chiral precursor 37 (ABX 1336) ABX | 33689056 2021 EJNMMI Radiopharm Chem The same process, using the non-carried precursor (ABX 1336) was also developed for an IBA (Louvain-la-neuve, Belgium) module within a set of disposable cassettes (IFP-“Integrated Fluidic Processor”) — with 20 ± 5% RCY and > 99% ee |
| iPHASE FlexLab iPHASE Technologies | — | — | 5-7% | > 99% | — | 33689056 2021 EJNMMI Radiopharm Chem The same method was performed in an automated model iPHASE FlexLab Module (Australia) by Ya-Yao Huang — RCY between 5 and 7% in 110 min |
| Modular-Lab Standard Eckert & Ziegler | — | — | 20 ± 1% | — | — | 33689056 2021 EJNMMI Radiopharm Chem Pretze et al. (Pretze et al., 2017) evaluated the multistep synthesis based on cPTC and ABX methods using an Eckert&Ziegler (Berlin, Germany) modular-Lab Standard module — RCY of 20 ± 1%, Am up to 2.2 GBq/μmol and ee > 96% |
| TRACERlab MX GE HealthCare | — | — | 8-12% | >95% | — | 33689056 2021 EJNMMI Radiopharm Chem In 2013, Martin’s group automated this method for the GE TRACERLab MXFDG — reproducible RCY’s between 8 and 12%, in 100 min of reaction |
| TRACERlab MX GE HealthCare | — | — | — | — | — | 33689056 2021 EJNMMI Radiopharm Chem Recently, Mossine et al. (Mossine, 2019) reported the automation of a copper-mediated, one-pot, high molar activity of 6-[18F]FDOPA using a GE TRACERlab MXFN |
| In-house / custom built | custom manifold | HPLC | 9.3 ± 4.2% no | 97.4 ± 1.4% | trimethylstannyl-precursor 2 ABX | 34117961 2021 EJNMMI Radiopharm Chem The synthesis is carried out using a custom-build synthesis platform — [18F]1 is obtained in a non-decay corrected (n.d.c.) RCY of 9.3 ± 4.2%, 45 min from the end of the second bombardment. |
| TRACERlab MX GE HealthCare | vendor cassette | SPE | 5.6 ± 0.3% no | 98.4 ± 0.16% | nitro-precursor 4 ABX | 34117961 2021 EJNMMI Radiopharm Chem The automated synthesis of [18F]1 is performed on a GE Tracerlab MX module — [18F]1 is obtained in a non-decay corrected RCY of 5.6 ± 0.3%, 95 min from EOB. |
| AllinOne (AiO) Trasis | vendor cassette | HPLC | 30 ± 8% no | 99.8 ± 0.5% | nitroveratraldehyde 7 | 34117961 2021 EJNMMI Radiopharm Chem [18F]1 is synthesized using the Trasis AllinOne (AiO) automated radiochemistry module — [18F]1 is obtained in a non-decay corrected RCY of 30 ± 8%, 70 min from EOB. |
| — | — | — | — | — | — | 33664973 2021 Neurooncol Pract |
| — | — | — | — | — | — | 34053336 2021 J Cereb Blood Flow Metab |
| In-house / custom built | custom manifold | HPLC+SPE | 54 ± 5% yes | — | N,N,O,O'-tetraBoc-6-(SnMe3)DOPA-OEt ABX | 29244780 2017 Molecules All automated radiosyntheses were carried out in a home-made synthesis module. — 6-[18F]FDOPA in a high RCY of 54 ± 5% (n = 5) |
| — | — | HPLC | 7±1 % | — | nickel complex 4 a | 26478840 2015 ChemistryOpen |
| — | — | — | — | — | — | 26478831 2015 ChemistryOpen |
| Raytest SynChrom Elysia-Raytest | — | HPLC | 15 ± 5 % | 97 ± 3 | 6-trimethylstannyl-L-DOPA ABX | 29564384 2017 EJNMMI Radiopharm Chem the synthesis module (Raytest, Synchrom FDOPA F2, see schematic overview in Fig. 1) — FDOPA-Lower 20Ne(d,α)18F single-shoot68 15 ± 5 8.5 ± 3.3 97 ± 3 526 ± 192 |
| Raytest SynChrom Elysia-Raytest | — | HPLC | 23 ± 4 % | 97 ± 3 | 6-trimethylstannyl-L-DOPA ABX | 29564384 2017 EJNMMI Radiopharm Chem the synthesis module (Raytest, Synchrom FDOPA F2, see schematic overview in Fig. 1) — FDOPA-Higher 18O(p,n)18F double-shoot42 23 ± 4 121 ± 27 97 ± 3 4521 ± 967 |
| — | — | — | — | — | — | 42089130 2026 Neuro Oncol |
| TRACERlab FX FN GE HealthCare | custom manifold | HPLC+SPE | 6 ± 1% | >99% | FDOPA BPin precursor (1) ABX | 32269382 2020 Nat Protoc General Electric (GE) TRACERLab FXFN synthesis module — 3.85 ± 0.59 GBq, 104 ± 16 mCi, 6 ± 1% based upon approximately 66.6 GBq (1800 mCi) of starting [18F]fluoride |
| TRACERlab FX FN GE HealthCare | custom manifold | HPLC+SPE | 5 ± 1% | >98% | FDOPA BPin precursor (1) ABX | 32269382 2020 Nat Protoc This pre-purification requires a modified TRACERlab FXFN synthesis module (see Supplementary Figure 2 for configuration and Supplementary Method 1 for timelist) — 2.26 ± 0.48 GBq, 61 ± 13 mCi, 5 ± 1% based upon 45.6 ± 11.0 GBq (1232 ± 298 mCi) of starting [18F]fluoride |
| — | — | — | — | — | — | 37026455 2023 J Cereb Blood Flow Metab |
| TRACERlab FX FN | — | HPLC | 6 ± 1% | >99% | BPin precursor 1 ABX | 31536095 2019 Org Biomol Chem TRACERLab FXFN synthesis module — the activity yield (AY) was 6 ± 1%, based upon 1.8 Ci of [18F]fluoride |
| — | — | — | — | — | — | 42620272 2026 Front Endocrinol (Lausanne) |
| — | — | — | — | — | — Iason GmbH | 42422425 2026 Front Endocrinol (Lausanne) The radiochemical synthesis of [18F]fluoro-L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (18FDOPA) was commercially sourced from IASON GmbH (Graz, Austria). |
| — | — | — | — | — | — | 39351526 2024 Front Endocrinol (Lausanne) |
| — | — | — | — | — | — | 38871836 2024 Diabetologia |
| — | — | — | — | — | — | 38341198 2024 BMJ Case Rep |
| — | — | HPLC | 15 ± 3% | 95.8 ± 1.4% | nucleophilic precursor | 33153893 2021 Appl Radiat Isot purified using in-built preparative HPLC on FX2N module — [18F]fluorodopa was synthesized with high radiochemical purity of 95.8 ± 1.4% with 15 ± 3% yield. |
| — | — | — | 10~14% yes | >95% | — | 32113705 2020 Appl Radiat Isot iPHASE FlexLab module — Decay-corrected radiochemical yield (RCY) of [18F]FDOPA synthesized by this method was 10~14% (n = 7) |
| — | — | — | 20±1% | >98% | AB1336 | 27886621 2017 Nucl Med Biol an Ecker&Ziegler Modular-Lab Standard module — [18F]F-DOPA could be produced fully automated within 114min in RCYs of 20±1% |
| — | — | — | — | — | — | 27943464 2017 Chemistry |
| — | — | HPLC | 36.3 ± 3.0% yes | — | — | 26011311 2015 J Labelled Comp Radiopharm on a GE FASTlab synthesizer — [(18)F]FDOPA and [(18)F]FTYR were produced in 36.3 ± 3.0% (n = 8) and 50.5 ± 2.7% (n = 10) FASTlab radiochemical yield (decay corrected) |
| — | — | HPLC | — | — | — | 25851249 2015 Ann Nucl Med Automatic synthesis of (18)F-FDOPA was based on the electrophilic method using TRACERlab FXFE module. |
| — | — | HPLC | — | — | — | 21344169 2011 Ann Nucl Med |
| — | — | — | — | >= 95% | — | 19433364 2009 Appl Radiat Isot In a home-made automatic synthesizer, 9064+/-3076 MBq of [(18)F]FDOPA were produced within 120 min from EOB (n=5). |
| — | — | HPLC | 22% | — | (2S,5S)-tert-butyl-5-(4-benzyloxy-2-fluoro-5-formylbenzyl)-2-tert-butyl-3-methyl-4-oxoimidazolidine-1-carboxylate | 19759110 2009 J Nucl Med |
| — | — | — | — | — | — | 18344441 2008 J Nucl Med |
| — | — | HPLC | 25±3% yes | — | N-formyl-3,4-di-tert-butoxycarbonyloxy-6-(trimethylstannyl)-L-phenylalanine ethyl ester | 18278215 2008 Nuklearmedizin The TRACERlab Fx FDOPA module (GE Medical Systems) was used for the preparation of 6-[(18)F]fluoro-L-DOPA. — 6-[(18)F]fluoro-L-DOPA purified by HPLC was obtained in decay-corrected radiochemical yields of 25+/-3% |
| — | — | — | — | — | — | 15693650 2005 Radiol Clin North Am |
| — | — | HPLC | — | — | 2-(2-Fluoro-4, 5-dimethoxybenzyl)-N-(diphenylmethylene) glycine tert-butyl ester (8) | 12579971 2001 Yao Xue Xue Bao |
| — | — | — | — | greater than 97% | — | 11065151 2000 Nucl Med Commun The radiosynthesis was performed by the Scanditronix Anatech RB III robotic system. |
Precursor
- Common precursor
- Nucleophilic route: protected nitro-precursor (e.g. nitro-aldehyde 'ABX 1336', (S)-3-(5-formyl-4-methoxymethoxy-2-nitro-phenyl)-2-(trityl-amino)-propionic acid tert-butyl ester) or nitroveratraldehyde; electrophilic route: enantiopure trimethylstannyl precursor PMID 34117961 / DOI 10.1186/s41181-021-00135-y; PMID 36678506 / DOI 10.3390/ph16010010
- Suppliers seen in the literature
- ABX advanced biochemical compounds (Radeberg, Germany)
- Cited suppliers in indexed syntheses
- ABX, Iason GmbH, WuXi AppTec
- Typical final purification
- HPLC (electrophilic route); SPE possible (nucleophilic)
Need this precursor?We can point you to suppliers for [18F]FDOPA, or handle the enquiry for you.
Get in touchQuality control Pharmacopoeial monograph
- Ph. Eur. monograph
- 1918 (electrophilic route); 2481 (nucleophilic route)
- USP monograph
- USP monograph: Fluorodopa F 18 Injection (referenced in FDA product labelling; not independently verified — USP-NF index is subscription-only)
How this set was arrived at. Base set per Ph. Eur. 0125. Related substances + [18F]fluoride by HPLC; catecholamine structure -> ECD (per draft note). FIX: 'Kryptofix' applies to the NUCLEOPHILIC route only (monograph 2481); the ELECTROPHILIC route (1918) uses no aminopolyether. Residual solvents (GC) apply to both routes.
Tests listed by reference only. Monograph texts are copyrighted and are not reproduced here. How these are derived
Setting up quality control?We can help you scope the equipment needed to release [18F]FDOPA.
Get in touchNotes
Carbidopa premedication common. Both electrophilic and nucleophilic routes in clinical use.