 | |
| General | |
|---|---|
| Symbol | 13N |
| Names | nitrogen-13, 13N, N-13 |
| Protons (Z) | 7 |
| Neutrons (N) | 6 |
| Nuclide data | |
| Half-life (t1/2) | 9.97 min |
| Parent isotopes | 13O (β+) |
| Decay modes | |
| Decay mode | Decay energy (MeV) |
| β+ | 1.2003 |
| Isotopes of nitrogen Complete table of nuclides | |
Nitrogen-13 (13N) is a radioisotope of nitrogen used in positron emission tomography (PET). It has a half-life of a little under ten minutes, so it must be made at the PET site. A cyclotron may be used for this purpose.
Nitrogen-13 is used to tag ammonia molecules for PET myocardial perfusion imaging.