Design of molecules labeled with beta+ emitters for use in multitracer investigations using positron emission tomography.

The development of positron emission tomography (PET) in the past few years reflects the improvements in sensitivity and resolution of detector systems and the increasing access to useful positron emitting tracer molecules. Today, synthetic methods for routine production of compounds labeled with 15O, 13N, 11C and 18F with half-lives of 2, 10, 20.4 and 110 min, respectively, are available. This has a great impact on the use of positron emitting tracers in investigations in clinical studies as well as in research. In the beginning of the PET era studies on blood flow, blood volume and energy metabolism were the main targets for investigation. Today, these are only a few of the many important areas of PET. In the future, the main progress of PET as a general tracer method will be in monitoring in vivo biochemistry in normal as well as pathologic states. The use of multitracer investigations and multivariable statistical analysis will then be a most interesting approach. In this paper some aspects on this matter will be discussed.