Automated microfluidic chip system for radiosynthesis of PET imaging probes.

Positron emission tomography (PET) is a powerful non-invasive molecular imaging technique for the early detection, characterization, and "real-time" monitoring of disease, and for investigating the efficacy of drugs (Phelps, 2000; Ametamey et al., 2008). The development of molecular probes bearing short-lived positron-emitting radionuclides, such as F (half-life 110 min) or C (half-life 20 min), is crucial for PET imaging to collect in vivo metabolic information in a time-efficient manner (Deng et al.