• PET radiopharmaceuticals commonly incorporate short-lived radionuclides of elements encountered in nature, e.g.,

¹⁵O (t_1/2 = 2 min), ¹³N (t_1/2 = 10 min),

¹¹C (t_1/2 = 20 min), ¹⁸F (t_1/2 = 110 min).

• Produce no physiological or pharmacological effects; inherently have a high degree of safety.
  
• No documented adverse reactions of clinical significance after hundreds of thousands of studies performed in humans worldwide.
  
• Radiation exposure from a PET imaging procedure is comparable to that of other Nuclear Medicine diagnostic procedures using gamma-emitting radiopharmaceuticals, many of which have been in use for decades.
  
• The radioactive substance used to evaluate the metabolic or physiologic process must not alter the process it is attempting to measure.
  
  • Therefore, most substances used in PET are chemically equivalent or close analogs to naturally occurring compounds.
    
  • Many PET Radiopharmaceuticals are radiolabeled version of substances commonly present in the body, e.g., ¹³N-ammonia, ¹⁵O-water, ¹¹C-acetate, ¹¹C-methionine, and ¹⁸F-FDG
    
  • ¹⁸F-FDG is the most common radiopharmaceutical used in PET worldwide.
    
  • Other PET Radiopharmaceuticals
    • ¹¹C Compounds
      
    • ¹³N & ¹⁵O Compounds
      
    • ¹⁸F Compounds
      
    • Other Compounds