Recent progress in [¹¹C]carbon dioxide ([¹¹C]CO₂) and [¹¹C]carbon monoxide ([¹¹C]CO) chemistry

Abstracts: [¹¹C]Carbon dioxide ([¹¹C]CO₂) and [¹¹C]carbon monoxide ([¹¹C]CO) are 2 attractive precursors for labelling the carbonyl position (CO) in a vast range of functionalised molecules (eg, ureas, amides, and carboxylic acids). The development of radiosynthetic methods to produce functionalised ¹¹C-labelled compounds is required to enhance the radiotracers available for positron emission tomography, molecular, and medical imaging applications. Following a brief summary of secondary ¹¹C-precursor production and uses, the review focuses on recent progress with direct ¹¹C-carboxylation routes with [¹¹C]CO₂ and ¹¹C-carbonylation with [¹¹C]CO. Novel approaches to generate [¹¹C]CO using CO-releasing molecules (CO-RMs), such as silacarboxylic acids and disilanes, applied to radiochemistry are described and compared with standard [¹¹C]CO production methods. These innovative [¹¹C]CO synthesis strategies represent efficient and reliable [¹¹C]CO production processes, enabling the widespread use of [¹¹C]CO chemistry within the wider radiochemistry community.