Premium
Development of carbon‐11 labelled PET tracers—radiochemical and technological challenges in a historic perspective
Author(s) -
Antoni Gunnar
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
journal of labelled compounds and radiopharmaceuticals
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.432
H-Index - 47
eISSN - 1099-1344
pISSN - 0362-4803
DOI - 10.1002/jlcr.3258
Subject(s) - chemistry , labelling , positron emission tomography , methyl iodide , radiochemistry , biochemical engineering , nanotechnology , nuclear medicine , psychology , neuroscience , biochemistry , medicine , engineering , organic chemistry , materials science
The development of positron emission tomography (PET) from being an exclusive and expensive research tool at major research institutes to a clinically useful modality found at most major hospitals around the world is largely dependent on radiochemistry and synthesis technology achievements by a few pioneer researchers starting their PET careers 40 to 50 years ago. Especially, the introduction of [ 11 C]methyl iodide resulted in a quantum jump in the history of PET tracer development enabling the smooth labelling of a multitude of useful tracers. A more recent and still challenging methodological improvement is transition metal mediated 11 C‐carbonylations, having a large synthetic potential that has, however, not yet been realized in the clinical setting. This mini‐review focuses on the history of carbon‐11 radiochemistry and related technology developments and the role this played in PET tracer developments, especially emphasizing radiolabelling of endogenous compounds. A few examples will be presented of how the use of radiolabelled endogenous substances have provided fundamental information of in vivo biochemistry using the concept of position‐specific labelling in different positions in the same molecule.