| Fluorine-18 | |
|---|---|
| General | |
| Name, symbol | Fluorine-18,18F |
| Neutrons | 9 |
| Protons | 9 |
| Nuclide data | |
| Natural abundance | Radioisotope |
| Half-life | 109.771(20) min |
| Decay products | 18Oxygen |
| Isotope mass | 18.0009380(6) u |
| Spin | 1+ |
| Excess energy | 873.431± 0.593 keV |
| Binding energy | 137369.199± 0.593 keV |
| Decay mode | Decay energy |
| Positron emission | 0.6335 MeV |
| Beta emission | 1.6555 MeV |
Fluorine-18 is a fluorine radioisotope which is an important source of positrons. It has a mass of 18.0009380(6) u and its half-life is 109.771(20) minutes.
Fluorine-18 is an important isotope in the radiopharmaceutical industry, and is primarily synthesized into fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) for use in positron emission tomography (PET scans). It is substituted for hydroxyl and used as a tracer in the scan. Its significance is due to both its short half-life and the emission of positrons when decaying. In the radiopharmaceutical industry, it is made using either a cyclotron or linear particle accelerator to bombard a target, usually of pure or enriched oxygen-18-water [1] with high energy protons (typically ~18 MeV). Fluorine-18 is often substituted for hydroxyl due to similar steric and electrostatic properties. This may however be problematic in certain applications due to possible changes in molecule polarity.
References
- ^ Fowler J. S. and Wolf A. P. (1982) The synthesis of carbon-11, fluorine-18 and nitrogen-13 labeled radiotracers for biomedical applications. Nucl. Sci. Ser. Natl Acad. Sci. Natl Res. Council Monogr. 1982.
| Lighter: Fluorine-17 |
Fluorine-18 is an isotope of Fluorine |
Heavier: Fluorine-19 |
| Decay product of: Neon-18 |
Decay chain of Fluorine-18 |
Decays to: Oxygen-18 |
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