Design principles and theory of paramagnetic fluorine-labelled lanthanide complexes as probes for (19)F magnetic resonance: a proof-of-concept study.

The synthesis and spectroscopic properties of a series of CF(3)-labelled lanthanide(III) complexes (Ln=Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm) with amide-substituted ligands based on 1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane are described. The theoretical contributions of the (19)F magnetic relaxation processes in these systems are critically assessed and selected volumetric plots are presented. These plots allow an accurate estimation of the increase in the rates of longitudinal and transverse relaxation as a function of the distance between the Ln(III) ion and the fluorine nucleus, the applied magnetic field, and the re-rotational correlation time of the complex, for a given Ln(III) ion.