Synthesis of a radiotracer for studying dopamine uptake sites in vivo using PET: 2β‐carbomethoxy‐3β‐(4‐fluorophenyl)‐[N‐¹¹C‐methyl]tropane ([¹¹C]CFT or [¹¹C]WIN‐35,428)

2β‐Carbomethoxy‐3β‐(4‐fluorophenyl)‐[N‐¹¹C‐methyl]tropane, a potent inhibitor of dopamine transport, was prepared by N‐methylation of the appropriate nor‐methyl precursor in DMF with [¹¹C]iodomethane. After derivatization of unreacted precursor with a long chain acyl halide, the radiotracer was purified using reversed phase semipreparative HPLC. The average specific activity was 3065 mCi/μmole (calculated at the end‐of‐synthesis; EOS). The average time of synthesis including formulation was approximately 21 minutes.