Radiolysis of 2-[18F]fluoro-2-deoxy-d-glucose ([18F]FDG) and the role of ethanol, radioactive concentration and temperature of storage

The 2-[18F]-fluoro-2-deoxy-d-glucose ([18F]FDG) undergoes radiolysis under high temperature and concentration of activity in the absence of stabilizers. No studies on the influence of transport temperature and concentrations of ethanol, used as stabilizer, higher than 0.1% in the radiolytic stability of [18F]FDG are reported. In the present work, [18F]FDG samples with activity concentrations between 20 and 130mCi/mL and with concentrations of 0.1–0.4% ethanol remained stable over 16h, regardless of storage temperature (5, 25 or 40°C). ► We characterize the decomposition profile of [18F]FDG. ► Ethanol concentrations of 0.1% assures the stability of [18F]FDG. ► We established the transport and storage temperatures from 2–8°C and 15–30°C. ► Successive aliquot withdraws from [18F]FDG multidose vials was evaluated.