Radiofluorinated Carbohydrates for Positron Emission Tomography

2-Deoxy-2-[18F]fluoro-D-glucose (2-18FDG) has represented radiofluorinated carbohydrates as the most successful tracer for positron emission tomography (PET). 2-18FDG uptake depends on glucose metabolism, which is related to a disease progression. 2-18FDG has been widely used in oncology, neurology, cardiology, infectious diseases, and inflammation, to complement anatomical modalities such as CT and MRI. Followed by the success of 2-18FDG, various radiofluorinated carbohydrates have been evaluated as PET tracers, which include analogs of D-ribose, D-mannose, Dgalactose, D-talose, D-fructose, D-allose, lactose, L-fucose, N-acetylneuraminic acid, and L-ascorbic acid. Among those radiofluorinated carbohydrates, several have implied potential for further development. 2-Deoxy-2-[18F]fluoro-Dgalactose has been developed to assess liver function and diagnose hepatic carcinoma. 6-Deoxy-6-[18F]fluoro-D-fructose showed promising characteristics for diagnosis of breast cancer. Three radiofluorinated analogs of lactose have been designed as the substrates of the overexpressed hepatocarcinoma-intestine-pancreas/pancreatitis-associated protein in peritumoral pancreatic tissue for early diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. The metabolism of 6-[18F]fluoro-L-fucose suggested that it is a bioactive analog of L-fucose in the synthesis of glycoconjugate macromolecules. 6-Deoxy-6-[18F]fluoro-Lascorbic acid was evaluated to assess antioxidant function of L-ascorbic acid in rodent models of transient global ischemia and glutathione deficiency.