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Screening of CEST MR Contrast Agents

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In vivo NMR Imaging

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 771))

Abstract

There has been a tremendous amount of interest in developing new MR contrast agents for cellular and molecular imaging applications such as the visualization of tumors, highlighting areas of angiogenesis, highlighting of contrast agent-labeled therapeutic stem cells, and highlighting of contrast agent-labeled drug delivery vehicles. The contrast properties of paramagnetic and super-paramagnetic relaxation-based agents have allowed MR imaging to be used as a tool for all of the above applications. However, a new class of MR contrast agents, chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) agents, provides additional features such as (1) the ability to highlight multiple biological events at once within an image through the distinguishability of the different CEST contrast agents, (2) the ability to toggle the contrast “off-to-on” by applying a saturation pulse, and (3) potentially providing more information about the environment surrounding the contrast agent such as the pH or concentration of metabolites. In this chapter, we will focus on the methods which can be used in terms of acquisition schemes and hardware to screen these agents through MR imaging.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of MR Research, The Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Sciences, The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Xiaolei Song

  2. Division of MR Research, The Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Sciences, The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Kannie W.Y. Chan

  3. Division of MR Research, The Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Michael T. McMahon

  4. F.M. Kirby Research Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Michael T. McMahon

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  1. Xiaolei Song
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  2. Kannie W.Y. Chan
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  3. Michael T. McMahon
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Correspondence to Michael T. McMahon .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. ERC Project BiosensorImaging, Leibniz-Institut für Molekulare Pharmako, Robert-Roessle-Str. 10, Berlin, 13125, Germany

    Leif Schröder

  2. Inst. Klinische Radiologie, AG Experimentelle, Universität Münster, Haus Rosenbach Waldeyerstr. 1, Münster, 48149, Germany

    Cornelius Faber

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Song, X., Chan, K.W., McMahon, M.T. (2011). Screening of CEST MR Contrast Agents. In: Schröder, L., Faber, C. (eds) In vivo NMR Imaging. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 771. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-61779-219-9_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-61779-219-9_9

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