Automated synthesis of the generic peptide labelling agent N-succinimidyl 4-[18F]fluorobenzoate and application to 18F-label the vasoactive transmitter urotensin-II as a ligand for positron emission tomography

[18F]-SFB has been synthesised using the TRACERlab MXFDG module, allowing production of up to 8-12 GBq of [18F]-SFB with specific activities of 250-350 GBq/μmol. [18F]-SFB was used for the labelling of U-II. In vitro characterisation demonstrated that [18F]-(Glu1)-U-II had retained desirable binding properties and may be suitable as a positron emission tomography radioligand for the imaging of the U-II receptor.