Detection of apoptosis by PET/CT with the diethyl ester of [18F]ML-10 and fluorescence imaging with a dansyl analogue

The diethyl ester of [18F]ML-10 is a small molecule apoptotic PET probe for cancer studies. Here we report a novel multi-step synthesis of the diethyl ester of ML-10 in excellent yields via fluorination using Xtal-Fluor-E. In addition, a one-pot radiosynthesis of the diethyl ester of [18F]ML-10 from nucleophilic [18F]fluoride was completed in 23% radiochemical yield (decay corrected). The radiochemical purity of the product was ⩾99%. The diethyl ester of [18F]ML-10 was used in vivo to detect apoptosis in the testes of mice. In parallel studies, the dansyl-ML-10 diethyl ester was prepared and used to detect apoptotic cells in an in vitro cell based assay.