Tos-Nos-Mos: Synthesis of different aryl sulfonate precursors for the radiosynthesis of the alpha7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor radioligand [¹⁸F]NS14490

Radiopharmacological investigations of [18F]NS14490 have proven that this radiotracer could be a potential PETradiotracer for imaging of alpha7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor particularly with regard to vulnerable plaques of diseased vessels. For further optimisation of the previously automated one-pot radiosynthesis of [18F]NS14490 using a tosylate precursor, precursors with other leaving groups (nosylate and mosylate) were synthesized and compared with the tosylate with respect to their reactivities towards [18F]fluoride. The use of these different precursors resulted in comparable labelling yields of [18F]NS14490. A novel mosylate precursor was synthesized and evaluated, which has revealed a higher stability during a storage period of five months compared to the corresponding tosylate and nosylate.