IMR Press / FBL / Volume 13 / Issue 5 / DOI: 10.2741/2796

Frontiers in Bioscience-Landmark (FBL) is published by IMR Press from Volume 26 Issue 5 (2021). Previous articles were published by another publisher on a subscription basis, and they are hosted by IMR Press on imrpress.com as a courtesy and upon agreement with Frontiers in Bioscience.

Article
An overview of responsive MRI contrast agents for molecular imaging
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1 Case Center for Imaging Research and Department of Biomedical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, 10900 Euclid Ave. Cleveland, Ohio
Front. Biosci. (Landmark Ed) 2008, 13(5), 1733–1752; https://doi.org/10.2741/2796
Published: 1 January 2008
Abstract

This review focuses on MR contrast agents that are responsive to a change in physiological environment. The "response" mechanisms are dependent on 6 physicochemical phenomena, including the accessibility of water to the agent, rotational tumbling time, proton exchange rate, electron spin state, MR frequency, or local field inhomogenieties caused by the agent. These phenomena can be affected by the physiological environment, including changes in concentrations or activities of proteins, enzymes, nucleic acids, metabolites, oxygen and metal ions, and changes in pH and temperature. A total of 52 examples are presented, which demonstrate the variety and creativity of different approaches used to create responsive MRI contrast agents.

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