Abstract

Organic chemistry with short-lived positron emitters has evolved into a complex chemical science. Special efforts are focused on the development of rapid, selective and functional group-tolerating reactions with the most prominent short-lived positron emitter fluorine-18 (¹⁸F, t_1/2 = 109.8 min). The use of catalysts such as palladium complexes represents a highly promising approach for rapid and efficient syntheses of a wide variety of ¹⁸F-labeled PET radiotracers. Palladium-mediated cross-coupling reactions such as STILLE reaction, SUZUKI reaction, SONOGASHIRA reaction and BUCHWALD N-arylation with various 4-[¹⁸F]fluoro-halobenzenes as versatile ¹⁸F labeling building blocks were shown to be particularly effective reactions. More recently, various palladium-mediated electrophilic and nucleophilic late stage radiofluorination reactions have further expanded the scope of palladium complexes in ¹⁸F chemistry. In conclusion, palladium-mediated cross-coupling reactions have significantly advanced and will continue to advance the field of organic PET chemistry with ¹⁸F.

Keywords: Fluorine-18, Positron emission tomography (PET), Radiotracer, Cross-coupling reactions, Palladium, 4-[¹⁸F]fluorohalobenzene.