Thomas Kampf1, Christian Herbert Ziener1, Peter Michael Jakob1, Wolfgang Rudolf Bauer2
1Experimental Physics 5, University of Wuerzburg, Wuerzburg, Germany; 2Medizinische Klinik und Poliklinik I, University of Wuerzburg, Wuerzburg, Germany
Iron oxide contrast-enhanced MRI has become a commonly used tool in molecular and cellular imaging. Cell labeling with iron oxide nanoparticles leads to signal attenuations in T2 and T2* weighted MR images on the site of the cell. Until now the problem of quantifying these labeled cells in vivo is not completely solved. The major problem is the unknown uptake of the iron oxide by the cells in vivo. This work investigates a possible solution by evaluating the transverse relaxation times and their diffusion dependence theoretically on the typical parameter range of in vivo situations.