Enriched water-H2 18 O purification to be used in routine 18FDG production

18O-water obtained from an 2-deoxy-2-[18F]-fluoro-D-glucose (18FDG, Synthera) synthesis unit is used for purification. The purification process consists of ultraviolet (UV) irradiation followed by a distillation in a preevacuated system. After purification, the loss of enriched water was about only 5 per cent. Organic compounds, radioisotopes, trace metals and gases are eliminated efficiently. Results show that there is no significant difference in the production yield of 2-deoxy-2-[18F]-fluoro-D-glucose ([18F]FDG) whether using purified enriched water by the proposed method of purification or using the new enriched water. This method offers the necessary precaution from contamination by tritium during the purification process. The obtained 18FDG or Na-18F using the purified 18O-water is of tritium free.