[18F]F-DOPA synthesis by poly(dimethylsiloxane)-based platforms: thermal aging protocol to reduce chemicals-induced damage

[Display omitted] •Swelling ratio of PDMS without underestimation due to solvent volatility.•Protocol of thermal aging against swelling and surface degradation of PDMS.•Surface chemistry and morphology of thermal aged PDMS treated with DCM and HI.•Surface chemistry of PDMS treated with an aqueous solution containing [18F]-fluoride ion.•Rinsing with distilled water to remove any trace of F-contaminations from PDMS. 6-[18F]fluoro-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine ([18F]F-DOPA) is a diagnostic positron emission tomography agent, widely used in imaging the loss of dopaminergic neurons in Parkinson’s disease and, recently, to detect, stage and restage neuroendocrine tumors and to search for recurrence of viable glioma tissue. In this paper, we establish a protocol of thermal aging (i.e., heating timescales of the order of 24h and temperatures higher than 120°C) against the swelling and morphological surface degradation (inspected by microscope imaging) of poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) by dichloromethane (DCM) and hydriodic acid (HI), that are chemicals involved in the microfluidic synthesis of [18F]F-DOPA. Swelling tests on PDMS channels heated at 150°C (for 24 and 48h) and 180°C (for 24h) confirm a percentage change of the channel dimension as low as 2–8% after loading with DCM. Also, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis is presented to illustrate changes of surface chemistry following treatments with DCM, HI and an aqueous solution containing 19F-fluoride as one of the products (impurities) in the [18F]F-DOPA synthesis. Rinsing with distilled water was demonstrate to allow removal of any chemical contamination from the PDMS surface treated with HI and a [18F]-fluoride-based solution, which is critical to synthesize high-purity (≥98%) [18F]F-DOPA to be clinically used.