Why is fluorine-18 unstable?
Fluorine-18 Of the unstable nuclides of fluorine, 18F has the longest half-life, 109.739 minutes. It has two decay modes, of which the main one is positron emission. For this reason 18F is a commercially important source of positrons. Like all positron-emitting radioisotopes, 18F also may decay by electron capture.
Why is fluorine-18 so useful?
Fluorine-18 is one of the early tracers used in positron emission tomography (PET), having been in use since the 1960s. Its significance is due to both its short half-life and the emission of positrons when decaying.
What are the side effects of fluorine-18?
Side Effects
- Difficulty with breathing or swallowing.
- hives.
- itching skin.
- rash.
- reddening of the skin, especially around the ears.
- swelling of the eyes, face, or inside of the nose.
What happens when fluorine-18 enters the body?
For example, fluorine-18 labelled fluorodeoxyglucose, also called FDG, is a radioactive version of the sugar glucose (the isotope of fluorine is tagged to glucose, which has a half-life of about 112 minutes). Once injected into the body, it will go to places where glucose is used for energy.
Why is fluorine dangerous?
If fluorine is absorbed too frequently, it can cause teeth decay, osteoporosis and harm to kidneys, bones, nerves and muscles. Fluorine gas is released in the industries. This gas is very dangerous, as it can cause death at very high concentrations. At low concentrations it causes eye and nose irritations.
How is fluorine-18 used in pet?
Fluorine-18 is one of the several isotopes of fluorine that is routinely used in radiolabeling of biomolecules for PET; because of its positron emitting property and favorable half-life of 109.8 min. Other tracers are also used in PET to image the tissue concentration.
How is fluorine-18 decay detected?
PET radionuclides decay by positron emission, and in the case of fluorine-18, it decays to oxygen-18 releasing a neutrino (ν) and a positron (β+). PET imaging detector. Positron emission followed by an annihilation event and detection of photons.
How long does it take for fluorine-18 to decay?
109.7 minutes
Who found fluorine-18?
Henri Moissan
How many electrons does fluorine-18 have?
So… for the element of FLUORINE, you already know that the atomic number tells you the number of electrons. That means there are 9 electrons in a fluorine atom. Looking at the picture, you can see there are two electrons in shell one and seven in shell two.