A Facile NMR Method for Pre-MRI Evaluation of Trigger-Responsive T Contrast Enhancement.

There is a growing interest in developing paramagnetic nanoparticles as responsive magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agents, which feature switchable T image contrast of water protons upon biochemical cues for better discerning diseases. However, performing an MRI is pragmatically limited by its cost and availability. Hence, a facile, routine method for measuring the T contrast is highly desired in early-stage development.

Collagen-binding peptides for the enhanced imaging, lubrication and regeneration of osteoarthritic articular cartilage.

Treatments for osteoarthritis would benefit from the enhanced visualization of injured articular cartilage and from the targeted delivery of disease-modifying drugs to it. Here, by using ex vivo human osteoarthritic cartilage and live rats and minipigs with induced osteoarthritis, we report the application of collagen-binding peptides, identified via phage display, that are home to osteoarthritic cartilage and that can be detected via magnetic resonance imaging when conjugated with a superparamagnetic iron oxide. Compared with the use of peptides with a scrambled sequence, hyaluronic acid conjugated with the collagen-binding peptides displayed enhanced retention in osteoarthritic cartilage and better lubricated human osteoarthritic tissue ex vivo.

MRI Detection of Hepatic -Acetylcysteine Uptake in Mice.

This proof-of-concept study looked at the feasibility of using a thiol-water proton exchange (i.e., CEST) MRI contrast to detect in vivo hepatic -acetylcysteine (NAC) uptake.

A Polypeptide-Based, Membrane-Penetrating, Target-Specific Contrast Agent for Magnetic Resonance Molecular Imaging.

Molecular imaging based on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) requires a contrast agent with high relaxivity and specificity. Much effort has been devoted to this goal over the past decades. In this work, we continue this endeavor by synthesizing an MRI contrast agent that can penetrate the cellular membrane and bind with specific proteins.

A Gadolinium DO3A Amide -Phenyl Boronic Acid MRI Probe for Targeted Imaging of Sialated Solid Tumors.

We developed a new probe, Gd-DO3A-Am-PBA, for imaging tumors. Our results showed active targeting of Gd-DO3A-Am-PBA to sialic acid (SA) moieties, with increased cellular labeling in vitro and enhanced tumor accumulation and retention in vivo, compared to the commercial Gadovist. The effectiveness of our newly synthesized probe lies in its adequate retention phase, which is expected to provide a suitable time window for tumor diagnosis and a faster renal clearance, which will reduce toxicity risks when translated to clinics.

PHIP hyperpolarized [1-C]pyruvate and [1-C]acetate esters via PH-INEPT polarization transfer monitored by C NMR and MRI.

Parahydrogen-induced polarization of C nuclei by side-arm hydrogenation (PHIP-SAH) for [1-C]acetate and [1-C]pyruvate esters with application of PH-INEPT-type pulse sequences for H to C polarization transfer is reported, and its efficiency is compared with that of polarization transfer based on magnetic field cycling (MFC). The pulse-sequence transfer approach may have its merits in some applications because the entire hyperpolarization procedure is implemented directly in an NMR or MRI instrument, whereas MFC requires a controlled field variation at low magnetic fields. Optimization of the PH-INEPT-type transfer sequences resulted in C polarization values of 0.

pH Mapping of Skeletal Muscle by Chemical Exchange Saturation Transfer (CEST) Imaging.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is extensively used in clinical and basic biomedical research. However, MRI detection of pH changes still poses a technical challenge. Chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) imaging is a possible solution to this problem.

Anti-apoptotic BCL-2 regulation by changes in dynamics of its long unstructured loop.

BCL-2, a key protein in inhibiting apoptosis, has a 65-residue-long highly flexible loop domain (FLD) located on the opposite side of its ligand-binding groove. In vivo phosphorylation of the FLD enhances the affinity of BCL-2 for pro-apoptotic ligands, and consequently anti-apoptotic activity. However, it remains unknown as to how the faraway, unstructured FLD modulates the affinity.

Engineered Paramagnetic Graphene Quantum Dots with Enhanced Relaxivity for Tumor Imaging.

Nano contrast agents (Nano CA) are nanomaterials used to increase contrast in the medical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). However, the related relaxation mechanism of the Nano CA is not clear yet and little significant breakthrough in relaxivity enhancement has been achieved. Herein, a new hydrophilic Gd-DOTA complex functionalized with different chain length of PEG was synthesized and incorporated into graphene quantum dots (GQD) to obtain paramagnetic graphene quantum dots (PGQD).

Macromolecular Crowding May Significantly Affect the Performance of an MRI Contrast Agent: A H NMR Spectroscopy, Microimaging, and Fast-Field-Cycling NMR Relaxometry Study.

Contrast enhancement agents are often employed in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for clinical diagnosis and biomedical research. However, the current theory on MRI contrast generation does not consider the ubiquitous presence of macromolecular crowders in biological systems, which poses the risk of inaccurate data interpretation and misdiagnosis. To address this issue, herein the macromolecular crowding effects on MRI contrast agent are investigated with the H relaxation rate of water in aqueous solutions of Dotarem with different concentrations of macromolecules.

Extending the Lifetime of Hyperpolarized Propane Gas through Reversible Dissolution.

Hyperpolarized (HP) propane produced by the parahydrogen-induced polarization (PHIP) technique has been recently introduced as a promising contrast agent for functional lung magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. However, its short lifetime due to a spin-lattice relaxation time of less than 1 s in the gas phase is a significant translational challenge for its potential biomedical applications. The previously demonstrated approach for extending the lifetime of the HP propane state through long-lived spin states allows the HP propane lifetime to be increased by a factor of ∼3.

Guizhi Fuling Wan as a Novel Agent for Intravesical Treatment for Bladder Cancer in a Mouse Model.

Alternative intravesical agents are required to overcome the side effects currently associated with the treatment of bladder cancer. This study used an orthotopic bladder cancer mouse model to evaluate Guizhi Fuling Wan (GFW) as an intravesical agent. The effects of GFW were compared with those of mitomycin-C (Mito-C) and bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG).

Gd-DTPA-Dopamine-Bisphytanyl Amphiphile: Synthesis, Characterisation and Relaxation Parameters of the Nanoassemblies and Their Potential as MRI Contrast Agents.

Here, a new amphiphilic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agent, a Gd(III)-chelated diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid conjugated to two branched alkyl chains via a dopamine spacer, Gd-DTPA-dopamine-bisphytanyl (Gd-DTPA-Dop-Phy), which is readily capable of self-assembling into liposomal nanoassemblies upon dispersion in an aqueous solution, is reported. In vitro relaxivities of the dispersions were found to be much higher than Magnevist, a commercially available contrast agent, at 0.47 T but comparable at 9.

Multi-chromatic magnetic resonance imaging using frequency lock-in suppression.

This study developed a multi-chromatic MR contrast using the frequency lock-in technique. An electronic feedback device that generates a specific narrow-frequency-bandwidth RF field is presented. The effects of this RF field on MR images are assessed both theoretically and experimentally.

Sensitive imaging of magnetic nanoparticles for cancer detection by active feedback MR.

Purpose: Sensitive imaging of superparamagnetic nanoparticles or aggregates is of great importance in MR molecular imaging and medical diagnosis. For this purpose, a conceptually new approach, termed active feedback magnetic resonance, was developed.

Methods: In the presence of the Zeeman field, a dipolar field is induced by the superparamagnetic nanoparticles or aggregates.

Novel MRI contrast development by lock-in suppression.

Purpose: The goal of this study is to develop novel MR contrast by frequency lock-in technique.

Methods: An electronic feedback device that can control the frequency and bandwidth of the feedback RF field is presented. In this study, the effects of lock-in suppressed imaging are discussed both theoretically and experimentally.

Effects of cholesterol on membrane molecular dynamics studied by fast field cycling NMR relaxometry.

Biological membranes are complex structures composed of various lipids and proteins. Different membrane compositions affect viscoelastic and hydrodynamic properties of membranes, which are critical to their functions. Lipid bilayer vesicles inserted by cholesterol not only enhance membrane surface motional behavior but also strengthen vesicle stability.

NMR relaxation study of water dynamics in superparamagnetic iron-oxide-loaded vesicles.

Superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO) nanoparticles have been introduced as contrast agents for clinical applications in magnetic resonance imaging. Recently, SPIO has been also used for tracking cells. However, NMR relaxation of water molecules behaves differently in a SPIO solution and SPIO-loaded cells.

Simple mobile single-sided NMR apparatus with a relatively homogeneous B0 distribution.

This work presents a simple design for a mobile single-sided nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) apparatus with a relatively homogeneous static magnetic field (B(0)) distribution. In the proposed design, the B(0) magnetic field of the apparatus is synthesized using only two permanent magnet blocks, i.e.

Dynamics of supercooled water in various mesopore sizes.

Double-quantum-filtered NMR and T(1) inversion-recovery spectroscopy were employed to exploit the temperature-dependent dynamics of D(2)O confined in MCM-41. Samples with three pore sizes of 1.58, 2.

Rotating-frame intermolecular double-quantum spin-lattice relaxation T1rho, DQC-weighted magnetic resonance imaging.

In this study, spin-locking techniques were added as a part of intermolecular multiple-quantum experiments, thereby introducing the concept of rotating-frame intermolecular double-quantum spin-lattice relaxation, T(1rho, DQC). A novel magnetic resonance imaging methodology based on intermolecular multiple-quantum coherences is demonstrated on a 7.05-T microimaging scanner.

2H T2rho relaxation dynamics and double-quantum filtered NMR studies.

In this study 2H T2rho DQF NMR spectra of water in MCM-41 were measured. The T2rho double-quantum filtered (DQF) NMR signal is generated by applying a radio frequency (RF) field for various durations and then observed after a monitor RF pulse. It was found that the transfer between different quantum coherences by the couplings during long-duration RF fields (i.

Separation and characterization of different signals from intermolecular three-spin orders in solution NMR.

In this paper, signals originating from a pure specific coherence of intermolecular three-spin orders were separated and characterized experimentally in highly polarized two-component spin systems. A modified CRAZED sequence with selective radio-frequency excitation was designed to separate the small signals from the strong conventional single-spin single-quantum signals. General theoretical expressions of the pulse sequence with arbitrary flip angle pulses were derived using dipolar field treatment.