Radiosynthesis of SPECT tracers via a copper mediated <sup>123</sup>I iodination of (hetero)aryl boron reagents.

Wilson TC, McSweeney G, Preshlock S, Verhoog S, Tredwell M, Cailly T, Gouverneur V

A general method for the copper mediated nucleophilic 123I-iodination of (hetero)aryl boronic esters and acids has been developed. The broad substrate scope of this radiosynthetic approach allows access to [123I]DPA-713, [123I]IMPY, [123I]MIBG and [123I]IPEB that are four commonly used SPECT radiotracers. Our results infer that aryl boronic reagents can now be employed as common precursors for both fluorine-18 and iodine-123 radiolabelling.