Abstract: Methods and reagents for thermally initiated carbonylation with carbon-isotope labeled carbon monoxide using alkyl/aryl iodides with nucleophiles are provided. The resultant carbon-isotope labeled compounds are useful as radiopharmaceuticals, especially for use in Positron Emission Tomography (PET). Associated kits for PET studies are also provided.

Abstract: Methods and reagents for photo-initiated carbonylation with carbon-isotope labeled carbon monoxide using alkyl/aryl iodides with alcohols pretreated by a base are provided. The resultant carbon-isotope labeled esters are useful as radiopharmaceuticals, especially for use in Positron Emission Tomography (PET). Associated kits for PET studies are also provided.

Abstract: Methods and reagents for photo-initiated carbonylation with carbon-isotope labeled carbon monoxide using alkyl/aryl iodides with water pretreated by a base are provided. The resultant carbon-isotope labeled acids are useful as radiopharmaceuticals, especially for use in Positron Emission Tomography (PET). Associated kits for PET studies are also provided.

Abstract: Methods and reagents for photo-initiated carbonylation with carbon-isotope labeled carbon monoxide using weakly nucleophilic amines and alkyl/aryl iodides are provided. The resultant carbon-isotope labeled amides are useful as radiopharmaceuticals, especially for use in Positron Emission Tomography (PET). Associated kits for PET studies are also provided.

Abstract: Methods and reagents for transition metal-promoted carbonylation via isocyanate using carbon-isotope labeled carbon monoxide are provided. The resultant carbon-isotope labeled compounds are useful as radiopharmaceuticals, especially for use in Positron Emission Tomography (PET). Associated kits for PET studies are also provided.

Abstract: A new method for the production and use of a carbon-isotope monoxide enriched gas-mixture from an initial carbon-isotope dioxide gas mixture is presented. The method comprises the steps of providing carbon-isotope dioxide in a suitable carrier gas, converting carbon-isotope dioxide to carbon-isotope monoxide by introducing said gas mixture in a reactor device, trapping carbon-isotope monoxide in a carbon monoxide trapping device, wherein carbon-isotope monoxide is trapped but not said carrier gas, and releasing said trapped carbon-isotope monoxide from said trapping device in a well defined micro-plug, whereby a volume of carbon-isotope monoxide enriched gas-mixture is achieved, which is confined in a reactor and pressurized with a reagent. Further, a system for producing a carbon-isotope monoxide enriched gas-mixture according the method is presented.

Abstract: The present invention provides a labelled .beta.-cyano-L-alanine and a .gamma.-cyano-.alpha.-aminobutyric acid, of which cyano group carbon is labelled with radionuclide .sup.11 C or .sup.14 C, or stable isotope .sup.13 C. The present invention also provides a labelled amino acids such as asparagine, asparatic acid, DABA, GABA, glutamine and glutamic acid synthesized by using the labelled .beta.-cyano-L-alanine and the .gamma.-cyano-.alpha.-aminobutyric acid as an intermediate. The labelled amino acids are useful for in vivo imaging of tumors and brain functions.

Abstract: To permit detection of trace unstable reaction products to clarify the reaction process of oxygenation, this invenion provides a method of introducing positron nuclide .sup.15 O as an oxygen additive into the reaction system.

Abstract: The present invention provides a labelled acyl-L-carnitine, which is an acyl-L-carnitine, a salt thereof or a derivative thereof, of which carbon group is labelled with a radionuclide or a stable isotope. It is possible to diagnose human diseases falling under acyl-carnitine metabolic syndrome, or human diseases due to structural/functional disorder of the brain by measuring the behavior of the labelled acyl-L-carnitine in various tissues or a biological sample from a subject administered with one or more kinds of the labelled acyl-L-carnitines.

Abstract: The present invention provides novel isocarbacyclin derivatives useful for search and study of prostacyclin receptor and as a therapeutic drug for central nervous system diseases, which derivatives are expressed by the following formula ?I!: ##STR1## ?where, R.sup.1 represents a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group, or cation of an appropriate amount, and R.sup.2 an alkylene group.

Abstract: This invention involves a new strategy for imaging and mapping enzyme activity in the living human and animal body using positron emitter-labeled suicide enzyme inactivators or inhibitors which become covalently bound to the enzyme as a result of enzymatic catalysis. Two such suicide inactivators for monoamine oxidase have been labeled with carbon-11 and used to map the enzyme subtypes in the living human and animal body using PET. By using positron emission tomography to image the distribution of radioactivity produced by the body penetrating radiation emitted by carbon-11, a map of functionally active monoamine oxidase activity is obtained. Clorgyline and L-deprenyl are suicide enzyme inhibitors and irreversibly inhibit monoamine oxidase. When these inhibitors are labeled with carbon-11 they provide selective probes for monoamine oxidase localization and reactivity in vivo using positron emission tomography.