RESUMO
[carbonyl-11C]Estramustine and [carbonyl-11C]estramustine phosphate were synthesized from [11C]phosgene using a one pot procedure. [carbonyl-11C]Estramustine was obtained in 31-43% decay corrected yield based on radioactivity trapped in the reaction vessel. The product was obtained 25 min after the end of radionuclide production with a specific radioactivity of 0.38-1.11 Ci/mumol. A method was developed yielding [carbonyl-11C]estramustine phosphate in 29-45% decay corrected yield based on trapped radioactivity, without purification of the [carbonyl-11C]estramustine intermediate. The product was obtained within 40 min of the end of radionuclide production with a specific radioactivity of 0.59-0.86 Ci/mumol. Results from in vitro experiments suggest that because of their high nonspecific binding, the compounds are unsuitable for positron emission tomography as imaging agents for the estramustine binding protein in cancer.