Positron emission tomography (PET) is a non-invasive imaging method that renders three-dimensional images of tissue that selectively has taken up a radiolabelled organic compound, referred to as a radiotracer. This excellent technique provides clinicians with a tool to monitor disease progression and to evaluate how the patient respond to treatment. The by far most widely employed radiotracer in PET is called 2-deoxy-2-[18F]fluoro-D-glucose ([18F]FDG), which is often referred to as the golden standard in PET. From a molecular perspective, [18F]FDG is an analogue of glucose where a hydroxyl group has been replaced with a radioactive fluorine atom (18F). It is well known that covalent attachment of carbohydrates (i.e., glycosylation) to biomolecules tend to improve their properties in the body, in terms of; improved pharmacokinetics, increased metabolic stability and faster clearance from blood and other non-specific tissue. It is therefore natural to pursuit the development of a [18F]fluoroglycosylation method where [18F]FDG is chemically conjugated to a ligand with high affinity for a given biological target (e.g., tumors or disease-associated protein aggregates). This thesis describes a novel [18F]fluoroglycosylation method that in a simple and general manner facilitate the conjugation of [18F]FDG to biological ligands using click chemistry. The utility of the developed [18F]fluoroglycosylation method is demonstrated by radiolabelling of curcumin, thus forming a tracer that may be employed for diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease. Moreover, a set of oligothiophenes were fluoroglycosylated for potential diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease but also for other much rarer protein misfolding diseases (e.g., Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and systemic amyloidosis). In addition, the synthesis of a series of 19F-fluoroglycosylated porphyrins is described which exhibited promising properties not only to detect but also to treat melanoma cancer. Lastly, the synthesis of a set of 19F-fluorinated E-stilbenes, structurally based on the antioxidant resveratrol is presented. The E-stilbenes were evaluated for their capacity to spectrally distinguish between native and protofibrillar transthyretin in the pursuit of finding diagnostic markers for the rare but severe disease, transthyretin amyloidosis.

Alcoholism is a family illness, and changed attitudes can aid recovery. This daily readings guide for family and friends of alcoholics provides meditations and reminder, and visualizations that can provide a measure of comfort, serenity, and a sense of achievement.