Luminescent lanthanide chelate contrast agents and detection of lesions in the hamster oral cancer model.

Lanthanide chelates are a somewhat unique class of molecules that have proven to be useful in the biomedical field due to their extremely large Stokes' shift and long fluorescent lifetimes. The ability of these molecules to produce fluorescence in the low- or zero-back-ground regime makes this class of molecules excellent candidates for use as contrast agents for a wide variety of applications in biological settings. Here we present the preparation, spectroscopic characterization, and application of a new terbium chelate contrast agent, based on the 1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane macrocycle (cyclen), for detection of early-stage malignant lesions in the Syrian hamster cheek pouch.