The retinoid X receptor (RXR) partial agonist 1-[(3,5,5,8,8-pentamethyl-5,6,7,8-tetrahydronaphthalen-2-yl)amino]benzotriazole-5-carboxylic acid (1; CBt-PMN, E-max = 75%, EC50 = 143 nM) is a candidate for treatment of central nervous system (CNS) diseases such as Alzheimers and Parkinsons diseases based on reports that RXR-full agonist 4-[1-(3,5,5,8,8-pentamethyl-5,6,7,8-tetrahydro-2-naphthyl)ethynyl]benzoic acid (bexarotene) shows therapeutic effects on these disease in rodent models. Here, we synthesized carbon-11-labeled ([C-11]1) as a tracer for positron emission tomography (PET) and used it in a PET imaging study to examine the brain uptake and biodistribution of 1. We found that (CO2)-C-11 fixation after tinlithium exchange at -20 degrees C afforded [C-11]1. This methodology may also be useful for synthesizing (CO2H)-C-11-PET tracer derivatives of other compounds bearing pi-rich heterocyclic rings. A PET/CT imaging study of [C-11]1 in mice indicated 1 is distributed to the brain and is thus a candidate for treatment of CNS diseases.