Solid phase synthesis of [18F]labelled peptides for positron emission tomography.

A strategy for the solid phase synthesis of [18F]labelled peptides has been developed. The peptides were prepared on solid support and acylated with 4-[18F]fluorobenzoic acid using HATU within 3 min and the labelled peptide was released from the solid support within 7 min. The [18F]labelled peptides were produced in good purity with a specific activity of 20-25 GBq/micromol.