nicotine C-11

Nicotine C-11 (also known as [11C]nicotine) is a radiopharmaceutical research compound used as a positron emission tomography (PET) imaging tracer. It consists of the alkaloid nicotine labeled with the radioactive isotope carbon-11, typically synthesized by the methylation of nornicotine using [11C]methyl iodide. Primarily utilized in clinical research, it allows for the visualization and quantification of nicotine kinetics and biodistribution in the human brain and body, particularly following smoking or intravenous administration. Studies have demonstrated that when inhaled via cigarette smoke, the tracer reaches significant brain levels within seconds. While it effectively tracks the rapid uptake and distribution of nicotine, it is generally considered unsuitable for mapping specific nicotinic cholinergic receptor (nAChR) binding sites in the human brain due to high non-specific binding and rapid kinetics that do not meet the stringent criteria for receptor-specific tracers.

Other names

C-11 labeled nicotineC11 labeled nicotineC 11 labeled nicotine[11C]nicotine11C-nicotinecarbon C-11 nicotinenicotine C-11