Automated Production of [¹⁸F] PSMA-1007 Using 7.5 MeV Cyclotron: A Feasible Alternative for Remote Sites

The necessity of targeting the prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) with a radiotracer other than the generator-based [⁶⁸Ga] PSMA compounds, led to the production of the 18F labelled PSMA-1007. The production of [¹⁸F]PSMA-1007 was achieved using a 7.5 MeV cyclotron and the NEPTIS mosaic-RS automated synthesis module. After the first 36 batches, the mean percentage yield (decay corrected) was calculated to be 57.0±10.1% and the average activity in the final product vial reached 2.1±0.5 GBq, which can be translated to approximately 3 patients per cassette; using a single PET/CT scanner. The time needed for the synthesis and quality control was 65 minutes. In order to reach an initial activity high enough to produce more than one dose per cassette and therefore for it to become economically viable to produce the radiopharmaceutical, 95 to 100 minutes of bombardment were required at a requested 5.5 μA target current. PET images have shown the expected results according to the literature.