Fludeoxyglucose

Fludeoxyglucose (also known as 18F-FDG) is a radiopharmaceutical used in the medical imaging modality positron emission tomography (PET). It is an analogue of glucose, but with the normal hydroxyl group replaced by 18F-fluorine. It is usually injected into a patient and taken up by tissues that use glucose for energy. The largest uptake of 18F-FDG is by tissues with high glucose use, such as the brain, the liver, and most types of cancer cells.

Chemistry

Fludeoxyglucose is a glucose analog, with the 2' hydroxyl group replaced by a small, electron-rich fluorine-18 isotope. This substitution prevents the molecule from undergoing further glycolysis. As such, in human bodies, FDG is trapped in any cell that takes it up until it decays, since phosphorylated sugars, due to their ionic charge, cannot exit from the cell.

Medical use

Fludeoxyglucose is used in PET scanning and PET-CT scanning. These scans use a special dye containing radioactive tracers. These tracers are either swallowed, inhaled, or injected into a vein in your arm depending on what part of the body is being examined. Certain cells in the body absorb the tracers more than others, which helps doctors see how organs and tissues are working. The tracer will collect in areas of higher chemical activity, which is often a sign of disease. On a PET scan, these areas show up as bright spots.

Production

Fludeoxyglucose is made by substituting fluorine-18 for a hydroxyl group on glucose. The fluorine-18 is produced by cyclotron bombardment of oxygen-18 with protons. The fluorine-18 is then synthesized into fludeoxyglucose and purified.

See also

• Radiopharmaceutical
• Positron emission tomography
• Oxygen-18
• Cyclotron

Fludeoxyglucose Resources
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