Copper-Mediated Radiosynthesis of [18F]Rucaparib

The poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor rucaparib is used in the clinic to treat BRCA-mutated cancers. Herein, we report two strategies to access the 18F-isotopologue of rucaparib by applying a copper-mediated nucleophilic 18F-fluorodeboronation. The most successful approach features an aldehydic boronic ester precursor that is subjected to reductive amination post-18F-labeling and affords [18F]rucaparib with an activity yield of 11% ± 3% (n = 3) and a molar activity (Am) up to 30 GBq/μmol. Preliminary in vitro studies are presented.