SYNTHESIS OF A RADIOTRACER FOR STUDYING DOPAMINE UPTAKE SITES INVIVO USING PET - 2-BETA-CARBOMETHOXY-3-BETA-(4-FLUOROPHENYL)-[N-C-11-METHYL]TROPANE ([C-11]CFT OR [C-11] WIN-35,428)

2Beta-carbomethoxy-3beta-(4-fluorophenyl)-[N-C-11-methyl]tropane, a potent inhibitor of dopamine transport, was prepared by N-methylation of the appropriate nor-methyl precursor in DMF with [C-11]iodomethane. After derivatization of unreacted precursor with a long chain acyl halide, the radiotracer was purified using reversed phase semipreparative HPLC. The average specific activity was 3065 mCi/mumole (calculated at the end-of-synthesis; EOS). The average time of synthesis including formulation was approximately 21 minutes.