Anhydrous F-18 labeled eslemental flurine for radiopharmaceutical preparation.

Interest in fluorine- 18 as a label in radiopharmaceutical studies has led to the development of a method for the production of decicuries of anhydrous 18F-F2 using the 20Ne(d, alpha) 18F reaction. The amount of anhydrous 18F-F2 that can be removed from the target is a function of target pressure and carrier cokncentration increasing with rising target pressure and decreasing with decreasing carrier concentration. At a target pressure of 24 atmospheres and a carrier concentration of 0.1% F2, nearly 95% of the theoretical yield of fluorine- 18 produced can be removed and up to 85% delivered through a 10o-m stainless steel tube to the reaction chamber. Other functions affecting yield--including target design, target-gas handling and purity--have been addressed. Thick target yields for 14.0- and 9.4-MeV deuterons on target were measured to be 82 and 67 mCl/microA at saturation. With the BNL 60-in. cyclotron, production okf 600-800 mCl of 18F-F2 with a specific activity of approximately 10 mCi/mumole has been in effect since 1976.