Establishment of a kinetic model for the intramolecular catalyzed hydrolysis of [18F]‐benzylfluoride containing amino acid analogues by linking experimental and DFT studies

In an earlier publication, we suggested that the faster radiodefluorination kinetics of no‐carrier‐added (S)‐3‐(2‐¹⁸F]fluoromethyl‐phenyl)‐2‐amino‐propionic acid (2‐¹⁸F]FMLP), as compared to 4‐¹⁸F]‐fluoromethyl‐l ‐phenylalanine (4‐¹⁸F]FMLP), was caused by an intramolecular interaction between the CH₂F group on the 2‐position of the phenyl ring and the ammonium group of the amino acid. As the presence of nonradioactive (S)‐3‐(2‐fluoromethyl‐phenyl)‐2‐amino‐propionic acid (2FMLP) in a concentration up from 10^?6 mol/L reduces considerably the defluorination rate due to the formation of dimers, conventional experimental methods, like spectroscopy, cannot be performed for the study of the hydrolysis in no‐carrier‐added conditions occurring at a concentration range of about 5.0 10^?10 mol/L. In the present study, we aim to provide a proof that supports aforementioned hypothesis as well as to establish a kinetic model and to put forward accompanying rate equations for this hydrolysis reaction by combining ab initio quantum chemical calculations and kinetic data. The calculations of the optimized geometries and the corresponding energies of the reactants involved in the hydrolysis of 2‐¹⁸F]FMLP and 4‐¹⁸F]FMLP were performed at the DFTB3LYP/6‐31⁺⁺G**] level of theory. Interpretation of these data reveals that in 2‐¹⁸F]FMLP three intramolecular hydrogen bond interactions can be identified that are not present in 4‐¹⁸F]FMLP. The most important interaction is the one between the amino acid ammonium group and the benzylic fluorine atom, rendering the rupture of the C? F bond much more favorable. These findings align with the experimental data and enabled us to put forward the rate expressions that define the unexpected pseudo–zero‐order defluorination reaction of 2‐¹⁸F]FMLP at neutral pH. This study also proves that in the development of ¹⁸F]‐benzylfluoride containing tracers present‐day quantum chemical calculations are capable of predicting intramolecular interactions, affecting their reactivity toward hydrolysis at the no‐carrier‐added level. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Chem Kinet 44: 705–711, 2012