Abstract: Fluorine-19 (¹⁹F) isotope has 100% natural abundance, and the magnetic moment and relative NMR sensitivity of 19F nuclei are similar to those of ¹H nuclei. The total range of ¹⁹F NMR chemical shifts is over δ 1 000, giving good spectral resolution. Compared to ¹H NMR, ¹⁹F NMR is more sensitive to the changes in molecular structure and environmental factors, and thus can be used to probe fine structural difference of the compounds. In vivo ¹⁹F NMR spectroscopy provides a highly specific tool for identifying the existence of fluorine-containing drugs and their metabolites in the tissue. In this paper, the ¹⁹F chemical shifts and coupling constants of various fluorine-containing compounds were summarized and reviewed.

Key words: ¹⁹F NMR, organic fluorine, fluorine-containing compound, chemical shift, coupling constant