| Sažetak (hrvatski) | Naturally occurring organofluorine compounds are extremely rare. On the other hand, there are almost million of synthetic organofluorine compounds and their number is growing rapidly. Due to their unique physicochemical and biological characteristics, they are widely used as pharmaceuticals, materials and agrochemicals. Strategic incorporation of fluorine in drug-candidate became a common strategy in drug design and development. Organofluorine compounds have increased lipophilicity, membrane permeability, thermal and metabolic stability, and enhanced binding affinity to the targeted macromolecules compared to their nonfluorinated analogs. About 20 % of the currently marketed drugs contain fluorine. Organofluorine drugs are particularly popular among inhalation anesthetics, glucocorticoids, anticancer drugs, neuroleptics and antidepressants. Many blockbuster pharmaceuticals such as fluoxetine, rosuvastatin, atorvastatin, celecoxib, sitagliptin etc. contain fluorine. 18F-radiolabeled 2-fl uoro-2-deoxyglucose, florbetapir, florbetaben, flutemetamol and fluorodopa are used in positron emission tomography (PET) as medical diagnostics of neurodegenerative diseases and cancer. Inorganic compound sodium fluoride is used for the prevention of tooth decay. The fluoride enhances the strength of teeth by the formation of fluorapatite, a naturally occurring component of tooth enamel. Sodium fluoride, hexafluorosilicic acid and sodium hexafluorosilicate are commonly used for water fluoridation, while sodium and tin(II) fluoride are components of toothpaste. |
