Abstract #2307

A Ratiometric Bioresponsive MRI Contrast Agent for Rapid Monitoring of Biological Processes

Tanja Savić¹, Serhat Gündüz², Rolf Pohmann³, Nikos Logothetis⁴, Klaus Scheffler³, and Goran Angelovski¹

¹Research group "MR Neuroimaging agents", Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany, ²Research Group "MR Neuroimaging agents", Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany, ³High-Field Magnetic Resonance, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany, ⁴Physiology of Cognitive Processes, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany

A number of bioresponsive MRI contrast agents have been developed, with the aim of producing the maximal signal difference for a given biological event. This paper introduces an approach which substantially improves the detection of physiological events with fast kinetics. A nanosized, calcium-sensitive dendrimeric probe was developed and characterized by means of a balanced steady-state free precession imaging protocol. Results show an almost four times greater contrast gain per unit of time as compared to conventional T1-weighted imaging with small sized contrast agents. Consequently, this ratiometric methodology has a profound significance for future studies of biological dynamic processes by means of MRI.

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