Enzymatic Fluorination and Biotechnological Developments of the Fluorinase

There has been some exciting success in cloning the fluorinase gene (flA) gene to induce fluorometabolite production in a host organism. This was demonstrated in S. tropica where the marine organism was engineered to produce fluorosalinosporamide. The study points the way to preparing other fluorinated bioactives by microbial engineering, although it highlights the necessity for good pathway regulation and to engineer a host organisms that is tolerant to fluoride ion. The enzyme has proven to be a particularly useful catalyst for securing the fluorine-18 isotope from [18F]-fluoride ion, to prepare a range of molecules for positron emission tomography. Also the fluorinase offers a strategy to access a range of [18F]-nucleosides and [18F]-fluoroacetate as tracers for PET, as well as a last-step [18F]-labeling approach to peptides under ambient conditions.