Synthesis of tritium labelled 3(R)‐HETE and 3(R),18(R/S)‐DiHETE through a common synthetic route

An efficient procedure for the synthesis of 3‐hydroxyoxylipins labelled with tritium on all double bond positions is reported. The synthetic scheme involves a joint route for the formation of tetraacetylenic precursors followed by stereoselective reduction of the triple bonds either with hydrogen or tritium. The final tritiated products were obtained with specific activities ranging from 1.65 to 1.80 Ci/mmol. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.